England bowler Mark Wood targets return with Durham in preparation for the Ashes

England bowler Mark Wood is targeting a comeback with Durham before the end of the season as he readies himself to play a part in this winter’s Ashes.

Wood has been out for six months following a knee injury sustained at the Champions Trophy in February and played his last Test over a year ago.

But despite his lengthy lay-off, Wood remains an integral part of England’s plans to reclaim the urn Down Under. He remains the fastest bowler in the country and was arguably his side’s best performer when they last toured Australia in 2021/22.

The 35-year-old had initially planned to feature in the deciding fifth Test against India, but suffered a setback and now hopes to feature for his county in the coming weeks. Durham have Rothesay County Championship matches against Essex, Worcestershire and Yorkshire coming up and can expect to see Wood involved.

“I’m hoping to play for Durham as there are a couple of games in September – so I’ll try and play one or two of those,” he told Betfair’s Stick to Cricket podcast.

“The injury is alright. It was 50/50 whether I was going to make the India Test but I was bowling at Lord’s and then, the next day, my knee swelled up again so I had it drained and since then it’s just been about taking things easy looking ahead to the winter.”

England have not named their Ashes squad yet but there are no question marks over Wood’s involvement, with a plan already in place to have him arrive in Perth as part of an advance party well ahead of the series opener on November 21.

“I’ve been well looked after and very cautious, that’s the way that it’s been. I value it as they’ve got this end game where they want me to get to Australia,” he said.

“But I said to Baz McCullum I can’t just bowl to a net for four months, I’ll go insane. There’s a bowling camp in Loughborough in a tent – getting acclimatised there ready for Perth – then I’ll go over to Perth early with a couple of bowlers. We’ll arrive about a week early to prepare and get acclimatised.”

The war of words has already got under way in Australia, with the likes of Glenn McGrath, David Warner and Justin Langer building the pressure on England as they look to get one over their rivals for the first time since 2015.

But Wood is happy to keep things friendly, even expressing regret that the teams did not manage to share a customary drink after the drawn 2023 series – when Australia departed the Oval after being left to wait.

“Australia are good guys because you get to know them through the franchise world,” said Wood.

“It wasn’t that we hadn’t invited them in, it was just that the time had passed. These things get blown up to more than they were – it wasn’t a massive deal. I wish we did have a drink with them. They were miffed, but it wasn’t like we deliberately shunned them.”