Mark Wood

Mark Wood continued to bowl at a fearsome pace for England, twice breaking his speed records in 2024.

Despite this, his commitments for England and an elbow injury denied Wood any appearances for Durham during the 2024 season.

The 35-year-old broke his record twice in a rapid spell with the ball in the second Test against West Indies, bowling the fastest over by an England bowler on home soil since speed recordings began in 2006.

Wood started at 93.9mph and hit a top speed of 96.5mph in his opening over to break his record. The following over Wood bowled didn’t feature a ball at less than 94mph.

The Durham speedster clocked 97mph in his third over, revealing that his third over was even quicker than his first, beating his record again.

Wood took two wickets against West Indies in the second Test before winning Man of the Match in the third of the series as he tore through the tourists’ middle and lower order to take figures of 5/40 in the second innings.

After taking two wickets in England’s opening Test against Sri Lanka, the fast bowler was ruled out for the final two Tests with a thigh problem. It was later revealed that he had suffered a stress fracture to his elbow, ruling him out for the remainder of 2024.

Wood was also part of England’s run to the Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final, taking three wickets in five games.

The Ashington-born cricketer was part of England’s squad for their tour of India in early 2024, playing in England’s historic opening victory and taking four wickets in three Tests.

Wood aims to return to full fitness ahead of the up-and-coming summer, and Durham hopes to see Wood in 2025.

After returning to fitness, Wood featured six times on England’s white-ball tour of India.

The England quick was forced off the field during England’s Champions Trophy clash against Afghanistan with an ongoing knee issue. The issue required surgery and will rule him out until late July 2025.