England fast bowler Wood retires from internationals after battling injuries

Sept 22 - England fast bowler Mark Wood announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday after an extended battle with injuries, bringing the curtain down on an 11-year career during which he took 253 wickets across all formats.

The 36-year-old Wood, who played 38 tests, 70 one-day internationals and 38 Twenty20s, last featured for England in November in the first test of the 4-1 Ashes series defeat by Australia.

"Although this may not come as a surprise given the past year, it just feels like a natural time at the end of my contract," Wood, who has also dealt with persistent ankle and elbow injuries in his career, wrote on social media.

"I've always tried to be resilient and come back from injury to prove people wrong and show everyone what I can do. Unfortunately, this time I lost the battle.

"On medical advice, test cricket and 50-over cricket are not possible, so the England dream has slowly been ground out of me over the last year."

Wood, capable of bowling ferociously fast spells, broke into England's test squad in 2015 and bowled Australia's Nathan Lyon at Trent Bridge to seal their last Ashes victory 11 years ago. He was also among England's standout bowlers in the 2021-22 series, claiming 17 wickets.

He played a key role in England's 50-over World Cup victory on home soil in 2019, taking 18 wickets in 10 matches, and was part of the squad which won the T20 World Cup in 2022.

"I got to live out a dream and I hope I can continue playing cricket in some capacity and pursuing other challenges in the future," Wood added. REUTERS