Mark Wood still hopeful of Ashes role despite side injury

The Durham seamer, who took 18 wickets during England’s victorious World Cup campaign, suffered the injury during the final

Mark Wood still hopes to be fit to take part at some point in the upcoming Ashes series, despite a side strain ruling him out of action for the next month.

The Durham seamer, who took 18 wickets during England’s victorious World Cup campaign, suffered the injury during the final. Wood sat out the Super Over, with James Vince replacing him on the field.

He had come back into the Test reckoning during England’s tour of West Indies in February, when he took five wickets during a rapid spell at St Lucia.

“I might make the last couple (of Tests),” Wood told BBC 5 Live’s Sportsweek programme on Sunday. “It all depends on selection.

"Hopefully the injury will have healed by then and I'll be back with the speed and will have played a few games for Durham.

"My side injury is four to six weeks, so hopefully I'll still play a part towards the end of the season, but if not it's been a fantastic summer so far for English cricket.

"There's still plenty more to go and hopefully for me there's still a bit more cricket to play."

In 13 Tests, Wood has taken just 36 wickets, but has positive memories of his experiences against Australia.

He took the final wicket of Nathan Lyon at Trent Bridge in 2015 as England regained the Ashes in the game that saw Stuart Broad take eight first-innings wickets for England.

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