Mark Wood strips to boxers to take catch in fielding drill but no-one sure why

28 February 2023 , 13:53

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Mark Wood took part in a bizarre fielding drill (Image: Twitter)

England quick Mark Wood has baffled fans after stripping down to his boxers and taking a catch during a training drill ahead of the first ODI against Bangladesh.

Wood is set to return to action on England's white ball tour of Bangladesh, having been rested for the ODI series against South Africa and the Test tour of New Zealand. And the 33-year-old took part in a bizarre fielding drill before the series began.

In a clip shared on social media, Wood can be seen discarding his hat, sunglasses shirt and shorts before taking a high catch and falling to the ground after one of the England catches had hit a tennis ball up in the air with a racket.

And fans were left baffled by his antics, with one writing: "What is this ..strip cricket". Another joked: "What kind of catch is he training for?"

"When you are doing fielding practice and she texts you that she is home alone," a third joked. "He's off his rocker," added another.

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Wood is well known as a joker within the England setup, with his humorous antics ranging from serenading his teammates with a one-man performance of Jerusalem during the pandemic and his 'imaginary horse' celebration to videos of him hilariously teaching dance and rambling while under anaesthetic after surgery.

Wood is set to explain his latest antics in an episode of his podcast 'Middle Please, Umpire' which he hosts with comedian and cricket fan Miles Jupp. "Just had the craziest recording from pitch-side," the podcast's official Twitter account wrote. "This was discussed in detail…coming your way soon, dear listener!"

England's ODI series against Bangladesh is one of just three they will play ahead of their 50-over World Cup defence in India later this year and captain Jos Buttler believes it is "exactly the kind of challenge we need". Speaking ahead of the first ODI, Buttler said: "It will be a great challenge for us, Bangladesh are very tough to beat in their home conditions, they've recently beaten India here.

"We only have these matches and then don't play again until September just before the World Cup. All our preparation is geared towards that World Cup and these are the conditions that will probably be the closest that we can get to playing in India.

"This is exactly the kind of challenge we need, with the World Cup not too far away we can test ourselves against conditions that we as a side find the hardest. It's going to be a great measure of where we are as a team."

Matthew Cooper