Mark Wood is keen to make more fond memories of Trent Bridge when England begin the second Investec Test with South Africa on Friday.
The Durham seamer’s last visit to the ground for a Test saw England secure an emphatic Ashes win over Australia as home bowler Stuart Broad took 8-15.
Wood, 27, had the honour of taking the final two wickets to fall in that match as England sealed victory by an innings and 78 runs – and with it regained the famous urn.
“Walking into the ground, I started to get that buzz of remembering how I felt that morning when I was nervous going into an Ashes game,” he said.
“Then Stuart Broad produces eight wickets and put us in such a dominant position. To take the winning wicket, I still get the buzz off that, so I’ll never forget those memories.”
Wood was last in action for Durham at Trent Bridge earlier this year in a Royal London One-Day Cup match as he took three wickets in front of the Sky cameras in what doubled up as Samit Patel’s testimonial game.
The paceman is more than happy to return to a venue where he performs so well.
Wood said: “This is probably my favourite place to play in the country. This is a ground where, even for Durham, I’ve always done well.
“The crowd really get behind you here, and it’s an amazing place to play.”
“The night before the game, if I’m in [the squad], I’ll be thinking about the wicket, the ends and visualising running in to bowl.
“The crowd really get behind you here, and it’s an amazing place to play, so it’s great to be back.”
Wood is keen to make a greater personal contribution in this Test after returning to the England side at Lord’s, which his first Test since October 2015 after a succession of injury problems.
“It was a proud moment to come back and play for England in the Test match arena,” he said.
“It’s no secret that I thought I was probably gone at one stage, so I was delighted to be back out there.
“To get one wicket in the game at Lord’s doesn’t sound very good, but I was really pleased with how I bowled on that pitch.
“All in all I’m pretty pleased with how it’s going – it would just be nice to get more wickets.”
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