Mark Wood announces his international cricket retirement

0:01Yeah, go on, go on, he gets his fairytale ending. An epic way to go to a Test Match 100. The London Spirit of First Time win is the most remarkable thing you'll probably ever see in cricket. 604 and final Test wicket for Stewart Ball. It's India who will win the T20 World Cup. Can you believe it? Moments after Stokes' international career is coming to an end. Another wicket for this incredible cricketer. What are you great to see? Have you brought your factor 50 in your budgie smugglers? Not quite the day. Sometimes it's like that. There are people swimming out there. We often come crab hunting down here and just spend a few days with the kids.

0:46They love it. All good things have to come to an end and your international career is done. Congratulations on what you've achieved. I do. Injury, obviously, but was it a difficult decision, straightforward decision? Was it an emotional decision? Probably all of them. I think when you speak to other people they have a sort of, they say, it hits you in the face or there's a big feeling around that's it, you're done. I've never really had that. I love playing cricket. I love playing for England. That's been something that I've felt really strongly about and proud to do. But I've had a lot of injuries, we both know that.

1:21I've always found a way where I've believed I've come back and had that resilience where I'm going to come back again I'll be better or you know I'll prove somebody wrong again but this time it's just ground us down really I think um it's been a long time since Perth that was in November of my last game so it's been a year and a half really where it's just sort of ground me down to thinking look I'm never going to get back to this level and plus the contract situation my contract ends in September and I think it just feels like the right time you know I never really wanted to give up England but um you know the lads that are coming through are doing a fantastic job and the news should be about the lads that's going to get their contact and i can just sort of focus on other things when you did it in perth did you know i think oh no this is a bad one i knew it was bad because i'd had that previous um surgery where it was i was always trying to chase my tail looking back now it probably never was quite right i was always chasing that dream of um look can i physically do this um my ankle problems, my elbow problems, all the rest of them.

2:24Every time I went back it felt better. This time something wasn't quite right and since I've had the second operation things have improved but not to the point where I believe I couldn't play test match cricket, I couldn't play 50 over cricket. I mean I'd still love to play 20 overs but I think it just feels like a nice time to just say that's a natural end. This isn't to apportion blame on anyone but with the Ashes injury therefore the knee did you come back a bit early? Was it rushed? probably from my point of view I don't think it's to blame anybody else I think it was just you know I was desperate to play Perth because it was the fastest wicket there in Brisbane they were the two games I was definitely trying to pence myself in for I hadn't had much time back on my legs the warm-up game my hamstring got incredibly tight because it was looking after my knee and I think that whole time when you talk about injury people don't see the work you're putting in behind you I was desperately trying to get it right I was taped up to the nines and I I was like a mummy at one point, I had that much tape on this.

3:20But I just couldn't get back quite to that level and I was just not quite the same in Australia. What did it mean for you to play for England? Everything, I think it was a dream. Obviously when I grew up in the back garden, I used to write the teams down, England versus Australia. I used to do all the actions, come to the beach like this, round the garages, round the back of my mom and dad, up the local cricket club 50 yards away. In the summer we put the net up. So even just to, I wanted to just play for, I shouldn't never mind England so you know just to think that I would play one game was immense and it is the like the greatest honor to play for England you know that every you know when you play you're incredibly proud and you you're aware of people that have gone before you you're aware of the responsibility and all I want to do is just be you know a good teammate I was a average cricketer at times I wasn't you know I didn't light the world up so I had good days but I had a lot of average days.

4:14So I think, you know, when I look back on my career, there's maybe a few regrets, especially around injury, especially around performance at times. But to say that, I would even just play one game for England. I'm incredibly proud of that. You put in some electrifying performances for your country. You're one of the fastest bowlers the game's ever seen. Yeah, but I still think at times, it wasn't until the last few years really that. I wish I'd changed my run-up earlier. You know, my stats will not read that I was the best bowler ever, but I hope my teammates think that I was someone that, you know, tried their best every time even on flat pitches even when it was hard they could counter me to continue running and try my best for the team and that's probably the most important thing to me is that my teammates think that I was someone that they were pleased to play with and I was great in the dressing room a great teammate.

4:58Fast bowlers don't grow on trees and as you know better than anyone in the world it's hard on your body but they are a massive point of difference. Yeah and England are very blessed with that at the minute and I think that's what's made my decision as well you know you look and you think well um archer baker tongas all these atkinson all these guys coming through and you just feel naturally whereas at one point i was the guy that was only bowling bouncers and everyone else but i i'm incredibly happy that you know i get to say to my kids my grandkids i play with like the best players that england's produced i play with jimmy broadie you know these guys being in a fastballer with these blokes learning off them i got to play with the very best cook root stokes best or you know i could go on and on butler with all these guys and you just think i can't believe i've played with these blokes like i've been incredibly looking to win things um with england and be part of special things i think that's the thing that i'll be most happy with and we're also my jim anderson scene position i could show some footage of you doing exactly the same thing at times i was used as a blunt weapon at times and a bit of an enforcer and and that you know at times hurt my career hurt me but i wanted to show people I could do more than that.

6:07You know, you do what the captain asks, you do what the team needs at that time. But when I did get the chance to show, hopefully, a little bit of skill, people could see that I wasn't just that banging baller or fast. I maybe had, at times, a little bit of accuracy or at times, a little bit of movement. Not everybody's bothered by pace. So I had to try and find ways to, you know, keep getting better and keep evolving. I remember sitting in the dressing room with Josh Butler once in Sri Lanka, and I said, look, where do you see your, you've got the best view? where do you see things improving or where can I get better and he said don't understand yourself sometimes you know even that one key with the amount of times you get one key wicked that we need and that just sometimes that puts perspective that actually your teammates view it differently to how you view yourself so I might have suffered a little bit from self belief at times in my career but when I when I was on I truly believed I had an inner bit inside there's an inner steel that I felt I'm never gonna give up I'm gonna try and prove people wrong and really believe myself to get the best people out Before we go and grab a coffee and continue chatting and looking back a bit on your career, just explain where we are.

7:07It is absolutely beautiful. It is. I mean, you haven't got the Australian weather. It's cold, I wouldn't say that. You could have the, you know, if you did have the weather at this beautiful place, in the summer it's often busy. We're at Crestville Beach here in Northumberland. Come here a lot with my family. My, you know, Ashton's just down the road. My mom's from Newbegin, which is the next beach down. and yeah spent a lot of time a lot of time here on the beach throwing stones. Loads of beaches around here and mining communities etc. Yeah and they would go out miles beneath the North Sea here so my granddad and that side of the family my wife's family they were had a mining background as well where they go under the sea and mine coal here and I think part of that the route I always love coming home I love Northumberland always found this place actually helps when you've been on tour and you can come where I mean I'm miles away from anybody else so it's quite nice um but that the the values of the area i certainly took with us on on me shirt when i when i played for england has that helped 100 yeah i think you know i wore the number where i grew up on my back and you know at times when you get tough you've got yeah england badge on the front i've got my house my old house number on the back to remember where i come from and what my dad used to say to us and never ever give in even those one percent as where i'd be running on a beach like this in the winter or he'd ever stop watching us at the local field and I was trying to trick myself really of thinking that, no, that Bola's doing this, they've got the sunny weather in Barbados, or they're at Sydney Beach, I'm here at Cresswell where it's freezing.

8:31But that in my own mind helped us try to give some sort of edge in my own mind. Right, come on, let's go and grab a coffee. Nice one. This is broth. What have we got? So it's a mix of lentils and a bit of a stew. I mean, the England lads will be sick if it's tarted with this, because every time I come home, this is what I refer to, I can't wait to get home for some of my mom's broth. And we are on table 33. Meant to be wasn't it? Wasn't it? It was perfect with the end. Grand. Well, you know what I'm saying, and I'll stand by it, the skill in your hand, but we do know you for some electrifying spells.

9:00I want to take you back to St Lucia. Now I remember speaking to Joe and Ben after this, certainly Joe, and he was like, I hope no one nicks it because you were bowling gas. Is that the quickest you bowl? I think it's probably right up there yeah I think maybe I just think that because also it was the first time I felt like I belonged in that team I got five wickets my first test by far I just lengthened my run-up to that longer run-up and I bought I wasn't actually on that tour originally I was a replacement Ollie Stone I was dropped I think I was just it just felt like the right time yeah great memories there's a couple I think there's one the left and I think it's hit my arm, the route takes it really high.

9:45Even looking back now I'm like, that's quick. Has your action changed? A little bit, yeah. Here I've got a bit more. It just looks a little bit more sort of like clunky, a bit more stop-start, like a sort of rock back here and a rock forward, whereas towards the enemy career I sort of just flew through the crease. But it was a start around my knee, the medical team at the time, I'd gone from obviously that short run up to my long run up. That's the one on the route. That's a great catch. That went quick. It would have gone a long way that as well. I think the last two or three years where I felt my action and I've done a lot of work where I'd gone from something like 20 % over 90 mil an hour to over 60, 65 % over 90 mil an hour.

10:26So it was a big jump. That's obviously maybe put more strain on my body, but that was the real bit where I wish I'd utilized that more because I felt that it piqued me powers and more towards the end of my career. because I was a late developer and I didn't get in the England team late and I never was part of England on the 19th or anything like that but um yeah great memories these and even just smiling just watching it's great to watch back and presenting the scene like you said correct exactly yeah great feeling I remember I had four wickets here and there were nine down and Rudy wanted to bring me back on I was like no just get off the field I just want to get off the field but looking back now it's one of the nicest things he could have done because let me get that five wickets obviously kick-started my career again and it was a spring ball for more things to come that summer.

11:12What does it feel like bowling that quick and do you know when it's gonna be your day? Er yeah I think sometimes you do you just sort of feel it off your fingers that split second or the timing at the crease it's hard to imagine but it's sort of like I said it before you're like it's like a spring or a ballistic movement where that energy builds up I used to refer to it as I used to play Denise Lewis on the school computers at school where you'd have to tap it really fast and hold the power bar up and then that was what it felt like. You'd tap the power bar and then you'd have all this energy and release it.

11:43And then those days where you're not forcing it and you have all that energy and it's sort of like it's like a pa-pa with your feet and then you've got this massive delay like a slingshot and all that sort of energy just comes off the back of your shoulder and and within that split second out your fingers you're like it feels good I mean headingly St Lucia like I said the day before St Lucia I felt great in the nets headingly the day before Bowling to admit so I knew going into the game I thought it's going to be fastest right where's the ball where where's the ball at home yeah you've got all of your memory yeah I've got to keep them all in a special place I pulled them out the other day to do some stuff with the ECB around the same sort of stuff and bizarrely I pulled out the 2019 World Cup kit with the pants as well.

12:31I've obviously kept the full, not just the same top, I've got the full kit, I have the helmet pads. I'm obviously waiting for a really dear where I'm going to pull all this kit out again just to prove I was there. The top wasn't enough, I needed all of the kit.

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13:28We're going to come to the World Cup in a minute, but you mentioned Leeds, which I'm going to show you now. Yeah, I was ready to play. I remember I was close to playing the Lord's game, but wasn't quite ready with my elbow. And then, yeah. Got the pace, found the length. I must have watched that 50 times. I've seen that Nassar's contrary as well. He's got a picture of, hit the stumps, he's bowing too short. I'm setting him up, my Nassar. I'm setting him up. I'm pushing him back. Yeah, but that was obviously a great day. A lot of people come up to us and still chat about this and say that it was quick and stuff.

14:01Bit of swing as well, which obviously we were talking about before. It helps, but amazing feeling this day. This was the first game my parents told me to fight for live, which was special. Wow. But yeah, swing and pace was the main reason why I got wickets this day. but down the hill at Henley there's been some iconic bowlers out over the years so please that could add my name a little bit into that light obviously helped coming in with Woksi and we obviously still joke nowadays that we're 2-0 down we came in and it was 2-2 so technically we won 2-0 it was a massive game though yeah huge and the pressure I mean Baz had done an environment where I didn't feel like you were under that much pressure going in but I was just so ready to play like every you look at the pace at every ball yeah like it's like I was so ready to just charge in and bowl later my criss that even the back end of me spells I was still bowling quickly um do you remember the crowd knows yeah I remember actually Kerry as well though giving him a lot of stick obviously what happened with Bearstone um it was just fueling everybody I mean to hear um shake it up Woody was the Barmy Army song for us and every time I heard that I absolutely loved it would give us like that extra just two percent just keep flying in I was always I would always try and just turn on my mark just to time it when they would start the next verse.

15:21Yeah, okay, okay. So at times I'd probably look weary and tired but I was just timing it just so I'd get back running to fly in the game. But a great day of this, great day. What was it like playing under Brendan and Ben? It was great for me, they basically told us not to worry about runs, I'm there to create chances, get wickets. The only problem was that I often would find myself bowling with Shoa and Bashir. So he'd be finished, he's over in 30 seconds and I'd be back on but it worked well together and the fact that they were trying to attack him because I would be, you know, trying to be aggressive from the other end.

15:53But yeah, I really enjoyed playing on the both. Stokes at times would just, he wouldn't say very much to me, just make something happen or really charge in that. I often pride myself on when the wicket was flat or there wasn't much happening, of standing up for the team when they needed us. I mean, the record was always better away from home than it was at home. a lot of the time I'd have to bowl bouncers and things like that but I actually love the challenge of bowling away when you've got everybody against you in the stadium your back's up against the wall it's tough and you get that respect really from your teammates and as an opposition and days like that where you keep running and goal where it's red hot or I'm at a bad or something like that and you think I've really stood up the day and might not have got five wickets but I did my bit for the team and that's a bit I try to pride myself What does Ashes cricket mean to you?

16:45Loads, I mean I've probably played more Ashes cricket than anything else and I managed to get Labashian a few times, Steve Smith a few times, these are top top players. Never really got to Warner because Brodie had sorted that one out a few times but these guys are some of the best players and the biggest rivalries and like I said when I grew up I'd write down the teams England versus Australia and they'd be the guys I would try and be. my dad's action at Jason Gillespie wasn't much mind he needed a decent work there okay and like that was this was the pinnacle I used to stay up watching Harmi obviously a great hero of mine um seeing him bowl that wide but also seeing him bowl those great spells and you know watching with pride and wanting to be like him never had that six foot five frame but um you know look back on on Goff and all these other players I wanted to be just like all these guys and um kind of believe that I've had a part of that.

17:37It's not just Test Creek you played as well, you've got a World Cup winner's medal in your pocket, well two actually with the World T20 although you didn't manage to get in the semis in the final because injury got in the way again. How much joy did you take from those victories, World Champions? You know it's been miles better players than me who have not managed to win anything like that. I was just part of a great side with great players and like I said to you before to be able to see the people that I've played with these guys, some of the best England I've ever had, I'm just chuffed to bits that I've managed to do that.

18:09We beat everybody in that period, and then it couldn't be the World Cup, we had ups and downs, but I wouldn't change it. It was the best feeling ever. Best feeling ever. Playing in that World Cup final, and at the end of it, all the celebs, what was that like? Well, I hated the day. You were nervous, quickly, don't you? Yeah, terrible watcher, worryer all the time. Terrible runner coming out with all that kit on. I mean, I get all this flack. You need all that kit on. When I get this flack, right, he was hitting Yorkers, Stokesy, for six, right? So you were wearing it for your protection at the non-strikers?

18:42Exactly. Is that what you're saying? Your job was just to run very quickly. Well, he didn't say anything to me, actually, Stokesy at the time. I just said, I'm going to run. And I had all this kit on. I mean, I can't believe I came out of it. But I get all this stick for running slow. Yet he was hitting near Yorkers for six. And the broke balls were full toss and he patted him it on. And then I get the blame. For weeks I got hammered from the Asherton lads, I thought, oh, milk turns quicker, what about the Titanic and all this kind of stuff. It wasn't my fault, I was thinking if he just whacked it out the ground that he had done for the rest of the afternoon, I wouldn't have had that problem, but I have probably had about eight layers too many for running.

19:15Yeah, still a good memory to look back on now, and we've got to go over the line in the end. Because you're a teetotal, you can sort of sit in the corner a little bit and watch events unfold with a clear head and clear memory. What was it like in the dressing room? It was great. So I did the team song with Josh Butler that night. We wrote it on his bat. I think there was a popular song of like, a lay, a lay, a lay at the time. So we wrote this song on his bat and we put it up in the dressing room. We were all singing it all night. And the next day we had to do an appearance at the Oval, I think, where everybody, I mean, everybody was shabby.

19:47Like people are looking green and people are being sick. And I felt as fresh as it is. Honestly, the kids got the most out of my coaching session because the rest of the lads couldn't even move. Unreal celebration. Still got the videos on my phone, still look at them, still watch everything because it's special. To be a part of that is honestly special. I'm lucky to have been an England crit. I'm part of all that for so long. And play around the world. The game has taken you to places that a lad from Ashington wouldn't normally get to. I never thought I'd gone. I've toured everywhere with England just about.

20:21I think the Caribbean, New Zealand, Australia. Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, South Africa. I've done them all and met some amazing, amazing people along the way. Made great friends in the dressing room with England lads, made great friends with the support staff. And yeah, and played against the best players. Done a little bit of a franchise career where I've played with guys that I've played international career against, which was great. And I think overall, just trying to, you know, experience new cultures. I wasn't one that would often go away and just play golf. although the England team got a lot of flack for that if they're into that that's absolutely fine but for me I like to get out and see where I was and experience the places we weren't always allowed out in certain places but a lot of the times I wanted to see what it was like and experience the culture So what next?

21:12Well that's a big question I'm officially going to retire when my contract finishes at the end of this month but doing this now then it doesn't become a headline when the lads who deservingly get their months come out. So for me, it's just trying to get my body in a place where there's no pressure on us. If I was still trying to play T20 for England, I would be putting pressure on myself to put time limits on. I just don't think it's worth it. So I think I can go under the radar a little bit, take pressure off myself and my mind, where I've always tried to come back. This time, if I get back or not, who knows, 50-50.

21:45I'm going to try and bowl in the next month or two. If I can get some franchise cricket, fantastic. if not I've done a little bit of media work this summer and I've really enjoyed it and I'd love to pursue that as well speak a bit slower speak a bit clearer and then eventually I'll get there but yeah I've really loved doing that so maybe that's something for me in the future as well Coaching appeal? Well I have done my level 3 this summer and I've dipped into the England Lions a couple of times with Flintoff and it was great to be amongst him honestly he was class so I love doing that But the other thing I've done is the kids are actually under my son, so like under five, six, seven, eight.

22:25And that's been carnage, but I've absolutely loved that as well. So maybe you never know about coaching. I don't mean this to sound like you're deceased, but when I say, how would you like to be remembered? But as Mark Wood, the international cricketer, Ashes winner, World Cup winner. I think I'd just like to be remembered as a great teammate. and my best memories are with the lads, not moments that I've had, which I do cherish myself, but I think of times when I've done things with the guys away, quiz nights in the team room, seeing my family and friends up at the Oval and moving the Ashes, it's as much for them as me because I've done things, all those memories.

23:00I'd love to just be remembered for being great amongst the lads in the dressing room, a great teammate and someone that tried their absolute best all the time. And that should be a given when you're playing for England, but I really hope that they thought that I was resilient, I kept putting it in when I needed to, not necessarily just when I wanted to but when everybody needed us to. So I think that's what I'd most like to be remembered by, not by cricketing stats or things, just more by the person I was and the type of cricket I was really. And I could bowl fast. You could bowl fast, absolutely fast.

23:30One final one though, did you ever think you'd be doing a goat impression on television? Never ever. At the home of cricket? Never ever, but I think I nailed it. I think obviously we're coming by fields here in Northumberland, so maybe the Northumbrian group in Lords just inspired us.