England will begin their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in a match against Scotland at Kensington Oval Barbados on June 4 and pacer Mark Wood believes their preparation is not enough for the mega event.
English players were participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 before they were called back by their board for the four-match T20I series against Pakistan.
However, only two T20Is could be played as the first and third match was called off without a ball bowled due to rain in Leeds and Cardiff respectively. The first and fourth T20Is were won by Jos Buttler’s men without any trouble.
Wood stated that playing warmup matches in the World Cup is different from playing a series at home. But the ace pacer ruled out any excuses as they look to defend their title.
“Yes, we have got experience, but warm-up games always give you a sense of different things you can tinker with. Who is in good form? Who needs to work on other things? Some lads have been playing at the IPL and they are match ready," Wood was quoted as saying by Sky Sports Cricket.
“Other lads haven’t, and the lads that haven’t, is there a freshness? You want the games to practise stuff, but it is a fine balance. One or two of us might feel like we need a game or two to get going, but there will be no excuses. It is coming around thick and fast. Whatever preparation we get, that is what we are going to have to go with,” added Wood.
The speedster also talked about playing with Jofra Archer, who made his comeback into international cricket after 14 months, saying that there will be no problems in playing alongside him.
“I honestly have no idea. That’s a question for the management. But I have played with Jofra before, and I don’t see it’s like me or him. I don’t see why we can’t play together. We played together at the 2019 World Cup and things went pretty well. I don’t see why we can’t play in the same team, but maybe it is up to the management to manage our bodies and see how we get through the tournament," the 34-year-old stated.
England T20 World Cup squad
Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood
England T20 World Cup fixtures
4 June: v Scotland @ Barbados
8 June: v Australia @ Barbados
13 June: v Oman @Antigua
15 June: v Namibia @ Antigua
- Mark Wood
