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After rain-marred ICC T20 World Cup preparation, England pacer Mark Wood insisted that the Three Lions will make "no excuses" and said few players are gaming to get more runouts at the Oval to boost their confidence.
Without a ball being bowled, the first two T20I matches of the series against Pakistan at Headingley and Cardiff were called off. The second game saw England win by a score of 23 runs at Edgbaston, and they will be hoping for better conditions in Thursday's series finale at the Oval, where rain is predicted once more. "Obviously, it's not ideal when you schedule four games and we might only get one or two. A few of the lads are keen to get a run out at the Oval, so that will help. It will give confidence to everyone in the group," fast bowler Wood said as quoted by Sky Sports. "It was a good game the other day against Pakistan. They looked like they were pushing us really close, and might have got there in the end if it wasn't for such good bowling and shutting the game out from (Reece) Topley, (Chris) Jordan and (Jofra) Archer," he added. England are placed in Group B with rivals Australia, Scotland, Namibia and Oman. The defending champions will start their campaign against Scotland on June 4. "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. Other lads haven't, and the lads that haven't, is there a freshness?" asked the pacer. "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 round thick and fast. Whatever preparation we get, that is what we are going to have to go with," he added. The return of Wood's fellow fast Jofra Archer to international cricket has been England's most notable development during the Pakistan series. Archer had his first appearance for his country in fourteen months at Edgbaston, where he captured two wickets. After a few injury-plagued years during which he struggled with recurrent problems with his right elbow, he had not represented his country on his home turf since 2020. "The mark of Jofra is that he is always in the game, always at people. There is always a chance of wickets and him changing the game. He bowled that difficult over - that sixth over is a tough one, it is the last over of the powerplay where the batters are looking to score heavy, and I am sure he would have been nervous," Wood said. "He is a pretty cool guy, and as soon as he got that over out of the way he would have settled into the game. To bowl those next three overs for next to nothing shows a great deal of resilience, which is something he has had to show over the past few years," the pacer added. (ANI)
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