Mark Wood: England fast bowler announces international retirement

England fast bowler Mark Wood has announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect.

The 36-year-old, who is one of the fastest bowlers to ever play for England, has been blighted by injuries throughout his career.

The Durham paceman only returned to action in the first Ashes Test in Perth in November after 15 months out with an elbow injury followed by knee surgery.

However, he bowled just 11 overs before suffering swelling in the same left knee and subsequently flew home for treatment. He has not played for England since.

"Although this may not come as a surprise given the past year, it just feels like a natural time at the end of my contract," Wood said in a statement on social media.

"I've always tried to be resilient and come back from injury to prove people wrong and show everyone what I can do. Unfortunately, this time I lost the battle.

"On medical advice, Test cricket and 50-over cricket are not possible, so the England dream has slowly been ground out of me over the last year.

"Playing for England has been the greatest honour I could have ever wished for and a dream come true."

Wood added that he hopes to continue playing cricket in some capacity.

Wood took 119 wickets in 38 Tests after making his debut in 2015, and that summer he helped win back the Ashes on home soil.

However, he has suffered a string of ankle, knee and elbow injuries during his career.

In a bid to limit the stress on his body, he lengthened his run-up in 2018, and that did allow him to play key roles in some of England's biggest successes in recent years.

The altered run-up did not impact his pace and he was part of the team that lifted the 2019 50-over World Cup, where he took 18 wickets.

He was also in the squad that won the T20 World Cup in 2022, but missed the end stages of the tournament with a calf problem.

In white-ball cricket, Wood retires as England's sixth-highest wicket-taker in men's T20s with 54 from 38 matches, and he took 80 scalps in 70 one-day internationals.

Wood played a key role in helping England come from 2-0 down in the 2023 Ashes, with his return to the team - and blistering spells of bowling - helping them level the series.

"It's been a privilege to watch the latter part of a great career," said Rob Key, managing director of England men's cricket.

"To have been a point of difference in Ashes series wins, two World Cup wins, and to have thrilled crowds every time he got the ball in his hand is something very few players achieve. He can look back with enormous pride on a career very well spent."

'One of the most thrilling sights in the game'

Anyone who has ever played cricket at any level will have tried to bowl fast. The dream is to be able to hurtle the ball down at irresistible speed: batters flinching, stumps flying.

Mark Wood lived that dream. Few who have played for England, or any country, know what it is like to bowl with Wood's speed.

The sight of Wood flying in, bowling himself off his feet - literally, on many occasions - was one of the most thrilling in the game. He captured the imagination of supporters not only with his raw pace, but his personality. Wood engaged with supporters and never took himself too seriously. It seemed he always remembered that cricket is supposed to be fun.

Naturally, there will be the nagging doubt of what might have been had his career not been so badly hit by injuries. The human body is not designed to bowl fast and the rigours of the job hit Wood worse than most.

But, when the stars aligned, it was electrifying. A demolition of West Indies in St Lucia in 2019, complete with a remodelled, longer run-up, showed what Wood would be capable of in the latter part of his career.

He was one of the few England players to emerge with credit from the awful Ashes tour of 2021-22 and his entrance to the return series in 2023 was unforgettable.

Held back until the third Test, when England were already 2-0 down, Wood bowled at the speed of light at Headingley. In one of the great Ashes spells, Wood knocked over Usman Khawaja with a 95mph thunderbolt.

At the end of the Test, in a nail-biting run chase, Wood was at the crease with Chris Woakes to see England over the line. Woakes was another held back until the third Test and, without these great friends performing the way they did that summer, England would have been soundly beaten.

Wood has been a multi-format performer for England. He was in the XI on the unforgettable day at Lord's when the World Cup was won in 2019, coming out to bat with Ben Stokes despite carrying an injury. Wood was also in the squad when England lifted the T20 World Cup in 2022.

He is one of a handful of England players to have won both World Cups and the Ashes, having been part of the last England team to regain the urn in 2015. With Wood gone, the only remaining England player in Test cricket to have tasted Ashes glory is Joe Root.

There was no last hurrah in Australia. A long recovery from elbow and knee injuries did not produce the pace England were craving down under. Wood could only play in the first Test in Perth and said last month he was "ashamed" at what happened.

His retirement confirms the end of an era in English pace bowling. First Stuart Broad, then James Anderson, followed by Woakes and Wood into retirement. Throw in the all-round talent of Stokes, and England have lost 1,871 Test wickets in less than three years.