England fast bowler Mark Wood sent a strong message heading into the Ashes series in Australia, even as he acknowledged the challenge of facing the hosts in their own conditions. Australia are set to host the opening Test in Perth from November 21, with captain Pat Cummins racing against time to regain fitness after a back issue. Cummins has been ruled out of the first Test but has stepped up his bowling intensity in the nets, eyeing a return for the second match. Wood said England were under no illusions about the difficulty of the task. “Australia are obviously the favourites going into the series but I think there’s a quiet confidence within our group that we can do well here,” the pacer stated in a Sky Sports video.“The Australian side are very hard to beat in their own conditions, they’ve showed that for numbers of years,” Wood added. “We haven’t managed to win many games here at all so I think that first game is a huge game.” He added that early breakthroughs would be key for England’s bowlers if they are to apply pressure. “I wouldn’t say there’s one particular batter but of course as any bowling group knows that first couple of wickets is vitally important. If we can get off to a good start then we can try and put some pressure on,” Wood said. The 35-year-old pacer also spoke about the need to adapt quickly to local conditions, where pace and bounce are often decisive factors. “The wickets are hard, but it’s something that I’m sure we’ll adapt to and lads that have been here before can pass that knowledge on to the other guys,” he said. Wood praised Australia’s approach to fast bowling and admitted England had looked to learn from it. “From what we’ve done coming here, we’ve copied their model a little bit of lads that have bowled quickly. It’s been relentless and they’re some of the four best in the world, Australia,” he added.
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Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood, who is nearing 300 Test wickets, said Australia’s experienced bowling group remains motivated despite age-related scrutiny. “There’ll come a time no doubt (when the team is too old), but I don’t think it’s yet,” Hazlewood said. Both sides are expected to finalise their XIs closer to the opening Test in Perth.
