England fast bowler Mark Wood has admitted he looks back on his performance during the disastrous Ashes tour with "shame", after being ruled out following the opening Test in Perth with a recurring knee injury and not featuring since. He believes England missed a golden opportunity to win the series after leading by 105 runs with nine second-innings wickets in hand on the second afternoon, only to collapse and lose before the day's play had finished.

The defeat was sealed by a batting collapse of nine wickets for 99 runs, allowing Australia to chase down 205 in just 28.2 overs thanks to a brilliant unbeaten century from Travis Head. Wood, 36, revealed he had gone 16 months without playing a Test before the tour due to elbow and knee problems, and admits he was "nowhere near ready" physically when he took the field in Perth, with a hamstring issue compounding his troubles. He also spoke of intense media scrutiny during the tour, including being followed by reporters and photographers off the field.