England fast bowler Mark Wood has backed the country’s current one-day team to score 500 in an innings.
England are the world’s top-ranked ODI side and have an endless line of batsmen, thanks to a talented pool of all-rounders. They hold the record for the highest total in ODI cricket – 481-6 against Australia at Trent Bridge last year. They broke their own record of 444-3, against Pakistan, at the same venue in 2016, with that innings.
In all, England have registered scores of 350 or more a staggering 15 times since the 2015 World Cup, six of which have come in the second innings, and Wood believes a score of 500 is achievable.
“That is a realistic target for our one-day team,” Wood told BBC Sport. “It’s almost normal to get 350; 400 is easily gettable. We truly believe that we can chase down high scores, no matter what the opposition get.”
[breakout id=”0″][/breakout]
England have already taken a 2-0 lead in the ongoing five-match ODI series against Pakistan. The Eoin Morgan-led side crossed the 350-run mark on both occasions. They’ll now aim to seal the series with a win in the fourth ODI at Trent Bridge on May 17.
Wood, who features in England’s provisional 15-member World Cup squad, has not played an ODI since March 2. He is in a race to make the final World Cup squad, as competition among pacers has tightened following the arrival of Jofra Archer, who Wood describes as “world class”.
The last time we played Pakistan at Trent Bridge… 👀#EngvPak pic.twitter.com/2XlhgmSwo8
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 16, 2019
“I feel fit and strong, and in good rhythm in practice, but there’s nothing like a game when you are under pressure and you need that extra adrenaline,” he said. “I can’t wait to get out there and try to win the series.
“Everyone wants to make the World Cup squad, so you’re desperate to push your case. Jofra is world-class and I would fully expect him to be in the World Cup squad. That leaves four or five of us trying to fight it out for the other places. Everyone has done well, it’s hard to say what will happen. It means that tomorrow I will have step up and put in a good performance.”
