Mark Wood has urged England not to “linger” on their chastening white-ball tour of India, insisting the forthcoming Champions Trophy in Pakistan is a blank slate for everyone.
England have been beaten in six out of seven games on a tumultuous first engagement for new head coach Brendon McCullum, whose charges are seeking to avoid an ODI series whitewash in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
It was at the 100,000-plus capacity Narendra Modi Stadium where they started a doomed 2023 World Cup as defeat to New Zealand set in motion a sequence that has seen England lose 15 of their last 22 ODIs.
Mark Wood recorded figures of 8-0-57-0 in England’s defeat by India in the second ODI (Rafiq Maqbool/AP)
But Wood argued England under Eoin Morgan’s captaincy twice fell short in ODI series in India before insisting they can turn the corner when Jos Buttler’s men begin their Champions Trophy campaign on February 22.
“It has obviously been challenging but there’s been loads to learn and I feel like this experience will be good in the long-term going into the Champions Trophy,” the fast bowler told the PA news agency.
“It’s very easy to look at this and say we’re not performing well because we’re losing games but the 2019 World Cup-winning team, we didn’t win very much here. This is as tough as it comes to win away.
“When we go into the Champions Trophy, we play against other nations where we’re both in foreign conditions and things might change there.
“We’ve lost this series but when we get to the Champions Trophy, this cannot linger on us. We’ve got to get used to tournament cricket, it’s a totally different feeling, don’t carry any baggage from here.”
The start of McCullum’s white-ball reign is in stark contrast to his initial flourish with the Test side, where he won 10 of his first 11 matches after taking over a side that had prevailed in one of 17.
But Wood claimed there has been no change in the demeanour of the former New Zealand captain, who has encouraged England to be “watchable” and be bold with both bat and ball alike.
“The messaging has been very similar to the Test side,” Wood said. “I remember when he first came into the Test stuff, the things he was saying – it’s trying to get this group on board with that.
“We’ve got two or three guys who have played a lot then we’ve got guys that are just starting under a new coach. It takes time. The Test team was in a very different place to the one-day team.
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“Results aside, we’re trying to learn from what India are doing well. We’re always trying to learn in these conditions and how we can take this into the Champions Trophy.”
With Australia first up in the Champions Trophy in Lahore, followed by Afghanistan and South Africa, England might be tempted to err on the side of caution in terms of selection in Ahmedabad.
Tom Banton could make his first England appearance in three years after being drafted in because of Jacob Bethell’s left hamstring injury, which has ruled the all-rounder out of the Champions Trophy.
Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed may play his first game of the trip as England consider whether to shake up the bowling from Sunday’s four-wicket defeat in Cuttack, Wood’s first ODI outing since the 2023 World Cup.
He bowled at customary breakneck pace but figures of 8-0-57-0 were mainly the result of being clobbered by India captain Rohit Sharma, who made a match-shaping 119 but might have been lbw to Wood on 36.
England’s appeal was turned down and the on-field decision remained as the ball would have only brushed leg stump. Had Rohit been given out, it would have stayed out in a defining moment for the contest.
“I definitely felt threatening but I didn’t get a wicket – if you’re looking purely on outcome, maybe I didn’t do my job but how I felt in the game, I was trying to make things happen,” Wood added.
“You’re not going to forget how to bowl overnight but we haven’t played a lot of 50-over cricket to get used to the rhythms of play. But as a bowler, you just have to be a bit more consistent for longer.”