Mark Wood lengthens run-up in bid to reduce stress on body

Mark Wood is among England's quicker bowlers when on song, but his career has unfortunately been marred by a number of injuries – mostly stress injuries of the ankle. To solve the problem, Wood is set to trial a lengthier run up, which he hopes will ease the stress he puts on his body at least somewhat. "Off my short run-up, I felt I was having to force it all the time. That meant I was putting more stress on than I needed to, having to ramp it up to get my top speed," Wood explained to TalkSport. "I just pushed my run-up back a bit and felt I could cruise into it a little bit better, and look for more rhythm rather than being at the top end forcing it." England's one-day international series gets underway on Tuesday, 10 October, in Dambulla and though fast bowlers have traditionally not found much luck in Sri Lanka, Wood feels that the conditions might have something in it for his ilk as well. "The pitch didn't feel as subcontinental like as you might think," he added. "It's subtropical here in Sri Lanka, not like India or the UAE. It's more humid and a lot greener than you might expect. The one-day wickets have had a bit of tennis-ball bounce and have swung a bit for England for three or four overs, so we have to use that to our advantage." But Wood is aware that in the sweltering overhead conditions coupled with dry wickets, the spinners who will play the key role, and fast bowlers will be used in short and sharp bursts to support them. "Coming from a seam bowling point of view, it'll be two or three overs, smash it as hard as you can, then get off," he said. "The spinners are the ones who are going to attack here, but that new ball is key for us. If we can get wickets up front when it's doing a bit, that'll be brilliant, but if not, we'll sit in, try to dot up and make it hard, then let the spinners attack from the other end."