Wood retires from international cricket after battling injuries
Published: Sep 22, 2026, 8:28 AM (25 mins ago)
Mark Wood won the Ashes, the ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup • Getty Images
Mark Wood has retired from international cricket at the age of 36 after a long battle with injuries. He took 253 wickets in 146 international matches across formats - including 119 wickets at 30.79 in his 38 Tests - and will be remembered as one of England's fastest-ever bowlers, as well as an Ashes (2015), 50-over World Cup (2019) and T20 World Cup (2022) winner.
Wood has played only once, in the first Test of last winter's Ashes, since injuring his knee in the 2025 Champions Trophy and has already established himself as a charismatic and knowledgeable broadcaster. He announced his decision on Tuesday morning before working on England's ODI against Sri Lanka at his ground, the Riverside in Durham.
At this stage, Wood intends to keep playing for Durham in the T20 Blast and in other franchise leagues, alongside his media work. He has also studied for his Level 3 coaching qualification. He made his decision after learning that he would not be offered an extension to the three-year England central contract he signed in 2023, which expires next week.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Wood said that he had been "ground down" by his constant injury battle. "It's been a long time since Perth, in November, my last game, so it's been a year-and-a-half where it's just ground me down to thinking, 'Look, I'm never going to get back to this level'.
"My contract ends in September, and I think it just feels like the right time. I never wanted to give up [playing for] England, but the lads that are coming through are doing a fantastic job. The news should be about the lads that are going to get their contract, and I can just focus on other things."
Wood broke into the England set-up across formats in 2015 and became a fan favourite almost immediately, both for his whole-hearted performances and his on-field antics. He took the wicket that sealed their Ashes series win that summer when he dismissed Nathan Lyon at Trent Bridge, and also became a regular member of Eoin Morgan's white-ball sides.
His progress stalled due to regular injury setbacks but he thrived in 2019 after deciding to lengthen his run-up. He took his first Test five-for, against West Indies, during one of the fastest spells in English Test history in St Lucia, then played a vital role in England's 50-over World Cup win on home soil, taking 18 wickets including the key scalp of Ross Taylor in the final.
More to follow...
Matt Roller is a senior correspondent at Cricinfo. @mroller98
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.