England fast bowler Mark Wood announced retirement from international cricket on 22 September 2026 at the age of 36. The decision ends an 11-year England career built around extreme pace and repeated comebacks from injury. Wood finishes with 253 international wickets and winner’s medals from three major global titles.
Is Mark Wood Retired?
Yes, Mark Wood is retired from international cricket. The England fast bowler announced the decision on 22 September 2026 after medical advice ruled out Test and 50-over cricket. He will continue to play domestic and franchise T20 cricket but will no longer represent England.
Wood said Test cricket and 50-over cricket were no longer possible on medical advice. He described the England dream as slowly fading over the past year and said he had lost the battle after trying repeatedly to prove people wrong through comebacks. The announcement came at the end of his central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the governing body for cricket in England and Wales headquartered at Lord’s in London.
Wood made it clear that he hopes to keep playing cricket in some form. His retirement applies only to international cricket across Tests, One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). He remains available for county cricket with Durham and for T20 leagues.
England Career and Last Match
Mark Wood played for England from 2015 to 2025 in an 11-year international career. He made his ODI debut against Ireland at Malahide on 8 May 2015, his Test debut against New Zealand at Lord’s on 21 May 2015, and his T20I debut against New Zealand at Manchester on 23 June 2015.
Wood played 146 international matches in total and took 253 wickets across formats. He was a right-arm fast bowler who regularly bowled at more than 145 kph and often touched 150 kph. Since 2020, his average pace in Tests was close to 89 mph, which made him England’s fastest active bowler in that period.
His last international appearance was the first Test of the 2025-26 Ashes series against Australia at Perth, played from 21 November 2025. England lost that match by eight wickets. Wood bowled only 11 wicketless overs before swelling developed in his left knee. He flew home for treatment and never returned to the England side. His last ODI was against Afghanistan at Lahore on 26 February 2025 during the Champions Trophy, and his last T20I was against India on 2 February 2025.
Career Stats Across Formats
Wood was a strike bowler rather than a high-volume bowler. Injuries limited his appearances, but his strike rate and pace impact stood out, especially in Tests and T20Is. His best Test figures were 6 for 37 against Australia, his best ODI figures were 4 for 33 against Australia, and his best T20I figures were 3 for 9 against West Indies.
| Format | Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy | Best Figures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 38 | 119 | 30.79 | 3.33 | 6/37 |
| ODI | 70 | 80 | 40.82 | 5.59 | 4/33 |
| T20I | 38 | 54 | 20.24 | 8.45 | 3/9 |
| IPL | 5 | 11 | 16.27 | 8.95 | 5/14 |
In Tests, Wood claimed five five-wicket hauls and 11 three-wicket hauls in an innings. In ODIs, he took two four-wicket hauls. In T20Is, he retires as England’s sixth-highest wicket taker with 54 wickets from 38 matches. With the bat, the right-handed tailender scored 811 Test runs at an average of 15.59, with a highest score of 52 against New Zealand.
Bowling Speed and Fastest Ball Record
How fast does Mark Wood bowl? Wood is widely described as one of the fastest bowlers ever produced by England. His fastest recorded delivery was 156.6 kph (97.1 mph) against Pakistan at Multan in December 2022. His average bowling speed in Tests was consistently above 140 kph, with long spells above 145 kph.
The Multan ball is treated as the quickest of his career and among the quickest ever bowled by an England player. At the 2019 ODI World Cup, Wood and Jofra Archer regularly crossed 95 mph. At the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, six of the ten fastest balls of the tournament came from Wood, all above 153 kph, with the fastest at 154.74 kph against New Zealand.
In July 2024, Wood bowled the fastest over by an England bowler on home soil since ball tracking began in 2006. During the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge, his opening over averaged 94.40 mph and included balls at 96.1 mph and 96.5 mph. In his next over he touched 97.1 mph (156.26 kph), then broke his own mark again in the same spell. His action is short, skiddy and whippy, which helps the ball hurry onto the bat even on slow pitches.
Ashes Career and World Cup Wins
The Ashes is the Test series played between England and Australia, first contested in 1882 and now held every two years. Wood was part of the last England team to regain the Ashes in 2015, when he took nine wickets in his first two Tests before an ankle injury ruled him out of the third match.
Wood played four Ashes series in total. His most complete series came at home in 2023, when he joined the side from the third Test at Headingley. He took seven wickets in that match and finished the Leeds game with bat and ball to win the Player of the Match award. In three Tests that series he averaged just above 20 and dismissed Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne twice each. In 2021-22 in Australia, his best came at Hobart where he took nine wickets in the final Test.
Wood is one of a small group of England players to win the Ashes, the ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup. He was a key member of the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup winning squad in England, where he took 18 wickets in the tournament and bowled through a side strain in the final at Lord’s. He was also in the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup winning squad in Australia, where he took nine wickets in four games before body stiffness ruled him out of the semi-final and final. After his retirement, Joe Root is the only remaining England Test player to have tasted Ashes victory.
Injury History and Why He Stopped Playing
Why is Mark Wood not playing for England? Wood missed long periods because of repeated injuries to his ankle, elbow, knee and thigh. The immediate cause of retirement was a left knee problem that required surgery in March 2025, followed by swelling in the same knee after his comeback Test at Perth in November 2025.
Wood himself once listed two knee operations, two elbow operations and an estimated 60 to 80 injections in his ankle. His left ankle caused trouble from 2015 and needed three operations over the following years. He missed the start of the 2016 home season and considered shortening his run-up to reduce load. Instead, from mid-2018 he moved to a longer run-up that put less stress on his body while keeping his speed high.
Later setbacks included right elbow surgery in March 2022, body stiffness during the 2022 T20 World Cup, a right thigh muscle injury against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford in August 2024, and a right elbow stress fracture detected in September 2024 that ruled him out for the rest of that year. The left knee ligament damage suffered against Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy in February 2025 kept him out for 15 months. After seven months of rebuilding fitness for one Test, the knee swelled again. Wood said he had only one more chance to get rehabilitation right and did not want to rush the process.
IPL Career and Franchise History
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is India’s annual franchise-based Twenty20 league, first played in 2008. Wood played five IPL matches in total and took 11 wickets at an average of 16.27. His overall IPL economy rate was 8.95 and his strike rate was 10.91 balls per wicket.
| Season | Team | Matches | Wickets | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Chennai Super Kings (CSK) | 1 | 0 | Bought for ₹1.50 crore, limited chance |
| 2022 | Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) | 0 | 0 | Missed season due to elbow injury |
| 2023 | Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) | 4 | 11 | Breakthrough season with 5/14 against Delhi |
| 2024 to 2026 | None | 0 | 0 | Not retained, absent due to injury and workload |
Wood joined Chennai Super Kings in 2018 and made his IPL debut against Mumbai Indians on 7 April 2018. He was then bought by Lucknow Super Giants for ₹7.50 crore in the 2022 mega auction. After missing 2022 through injury, he returned in 2023 and produced 5 for 14 against Delhi Capitals at Lucknow on 1 April 2023. That spell remains the best figures by an England bowler in the IPL. He briefly led the Purple Cap race in April 2023 with 11 wickets before workload management by England ended his season. His last IPL match was for Lucknow against Punjab Kings on 15 April 2023.
Profile, Age and Personal Background
How old is Mark Wood and how tall is he? Mark Andrew Wood was born on 11 January 1990 at Ashington in Northumberland, England. He was 36 years old at the time of retirement. His listed height is 1.83 metres (6 feet) and he bowls right-arm fast and bats right-handed.
Wood started senior cricket with Northumberland from 2008 to 2010 and joined Durham in 2011, where he wears shirt number 33. Durham is his home county club in the English domestic system. He helped Durham win the County Championship in 2013 with 27 wickets at 24.07. He studied at Ashington High School and grew up admiring fellow Ashington fast bowler Steve Harmison.
Wood’s shirt number for England in white-ball cricket was also 33. He was known for a lively personality, a strong Geordie accent and wholehearted effort in the field. England’s managing director of men’s cricket praised his commitment and said watching the later part of his career had been a privilege.
Key Takeaways
- Mark Wood announced retirement from international cricket on 22 September 2026 at age 36 on medical advice.
- Wood played 146 internationals for England from 2015 to 2025 and took 253 wickets, including 119 Test wickets in 38 Tests.
- His fastest recorded ball was 156.6 kph (97.1 mph) against Pakistan at Multan in December 2022.
- Wood won the 2015 Ashes, the 2019 ODI World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup with England.
- His last international match was the Perth Ashes Test against Australia in November 2025, after which a left knee injury ended his comeback.
- In the IPL, Wood took 11 wickets in 5 matches, including 5 for 14 for Lucknow Super Giants against Delhi Capitals in 2023.
