Mark Wood on England's Champions Trophy, Australia and Wonder Woman
'I want to be a game changer... and a successful football manager!'
Wednesday 14 June 2017 18:14, UK
In his latest column, Mark Wood discusses beating Australia, his football manager record and Wonder Woman ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final...
Our game against Australia was a tricky one that fluctuated so it was nice to win the little battles and come out on top.
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Playing Australia brings its own pressure and while we were already through, we wanted to keep our momentum going after two wins and prove a point.
It was good to get four wickets and when you do well, you feel like you're contributing to the team and belong.
I didn't do anything different to the other games that I've played, to be honest. Sometimes it is just your day and things go your way - getting Steve Smith caught at mid-off, for example, the classic fast bowler's wicket!
I was a little bit disappointed after the first couple of games not to have more wickets because I felt like I bowled quite well. I didn't know why I wasn't getting more, whether I was bowling slightly too short or whatever but it just seemed to come together against Australia and I can take a lot of confidence from that going into the last, hopefully, two games - a semi-final and a final.
I've also been fortunate to have got a few really top players out in this tournament: Kane Williamson, David Warner, Smith and Glenn Maxwell. I think subconsciously you just try that little bit harder and you're even more focused because you know that any little slip and these guys will punish you.
If you can get the real best players out, it changes the game. That's the kind of cricketer I want to be. I want to be a game changer with the ball and contribute to the team that way.
Liam Plunkett has led the attack lately and been brilliant at getting wickets at key times. Adil Rashid spins the ball both ways and is a real asset to us and then me and Jake Ball up front just try and keep it tight, be really consistent and hopefully force the batsmen to try something different if we're smashing out good areas. Stokesy? He always seems to have a golden arm.
Everyone has different roles in the team and we're picking up wickets in different games so it's very pleasing as a bowling group that everyone is contributing at different times.
Our preparations for the semi-final against Pakistan will be similar to the games we've had so far. What we've done really well as a group is that the day before a game, we have a hard training session.
We train with intent, it's not just going through the motions. The lads can work on specific skills, so if someone wants to practice yorkers or batters want to practice six hitting or manipulating the field, they can, and at the moment I'm working on a new slower ball.
This is all done with a specific goal in mind to improve. That's why this side is great, it's maybe not changing for each team we play, it's just changes to improve yourself, to make your own team better.
We've got a real togetherness in the group and a huge amount of confidence and self-belief. Whoever has the ball in their hand at the time, whoever is trusted to catch the ball in the key positions or do the business with the bat - any one of the lads would back each other to the hilt. There is a great feeling and it's a happy changing room at the minute.
In between games, some of the lads will go home if it's close but because it's a three-day hike to get to the north east, I spend a lot of time with Plunkett. My girlfriend was down in London recently too, so it was nice to break it up and spend time with her.
I think I've only got about two movies left to see that are out at the minute - I've been to every cinema in London, Birmingham and Cardiff! I've not got many left to see, me and Plunkett seem to be cinema geeks, I guess that's what we do to relax.
We went to watch Wonder Woman and it was good, you know. I'll probably get caned for that but it was tremendous!
It's good to spend time together off the field as well. When you're together in the dressing room, there is so much banter flying around and then when you've got to be serious, you're serious. So when you're away, it's nice to completely switch off, just spend time in each other's company and relax.
Probably 95 per cent of the chat in the dressing room is morning football debates and it gets really competitive, probably more competitive than the nets at times!
We've got some really good players. Everyone mentions him but Jos Buttler is an excellent player, Sam Billings has quick feet but a few of the lads are gunning for him when he gets the ball, he's had to jump out of the way a few times! Jason Roy is like a bull in a china shop, harrying people, so there are a few different characters.
Before the Champions Trophy, I was the manager of one of the teams. I set my team out and we won every game and only conceded two goals, across about eight games. Jos was calling me Ranieri, the Tinkerman, and I set my team up with a good structure. I normally just play at the back, give it easy - I tend to just try and pass the ball to Jos, to be honest.
Everyone has a laugh and winds each other up, it's good banter and in a strange way, it gets you ready mentally as well as physically for the day.
We'll be playing again ahead of the semi-final against Pakistan in Cardiff and hopefully, I can end the day with two wins!
Watch England take on Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals from 10am on Sky Sports 2 on Wednesday.
