England fast bowler Mark Wood admitted feeling disappointed with his absence from the playing XI for the entire three-match T20I series versus South Africa.
The right-arm quick, who did decently well in the T20Is against Australia during the home summer, also revealed having an honest conversation with skipper Eoin Morgan on the matter as he approaches the tour's ODI series.
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"Yes, I had a conversation with Eoin Morgan before the first game and he was saying it's a tough call but they were going to go with the team they went with," Wood was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
"It wasn't anything I did wrong, they thought I was preparing well, it was just the gut feeling he had and the team he went with. That's international sport. I feel I did alright in the Australia T20s but we've just won 3-0 here so it proved to be the right call."
Morgan and the team management preferred Tom Curran over Wood and stuck with the same XI in hope to bring in consistency and role-clarity into players with a full-strength squad available in the build-up to the next year's T20 World Cup.
The other reason behind leaving out Wood may have been the surfaces, which played slower in Cape Town and Paarl, suiting Curran's pace-off variations more.
"It's hard to get into this team and you've got to take your chance when you get it," Wood said. "I didn't think I did a lot wrong in the T20s against Australia. I think I did quite well. But last time I was in South Africa I got smacked. Maybe that was a reason I wasn't picked?"
"I know you are saying about slow wickets but it is very different in South Africa to India. If I am in form and firing then I'd like to think I can hold my spot but that is down to me."
Not being selected for the T20Is continued an uncertain and annoying period for Wood, who found favours for only 1 of England's 6 Tests in the summer and also just 6 of their 12 limited-overs fixtures.
"Yeah, I think so, a little bit (feeling bad about it)," he said. "But I still hold core values of being a good team bloke. The team always comes first and you always want your mates to do well. There is a competitive edge that you don't want to be the one to miss out, you want to be the guy that's out there, but Morgy has a very open and honest dressing room and it's the same with Spoons (head coach Chris Silverwood)."
"If I want a reason for why I was left out or how I could get better or stay in the team, he would give me that answer. It's not about banging on his door or trying to knock it down. He's very open and honest with his answers."
With Jofra Archer and Sam Curran rested from the ODI series, beginning on Friday (December 4), Wood is set for plenty of game time. However, the "team bloke" doesn't view this as an opportunity for him to prove a point over T20I absence.
"I don't think I need to make a point to the coach or the captain," he said. "It's more the fact that I've been training well and I've been trying to keep myself ready in case I was needed."
"Now there is an opportunity that I can potentially play. It's not trying too hard or trying to prove a point; it's just stick to the stuff that I've been doing well recently."
Archer's absence will mean England won't have their quickest new-ball pairing available, but Wood understands his partner requires workload management after an absorbing IPL campaign in UAE, which followed a tiring summer and preceded the T20Is in South Africa. Archer will be absolute key to England's chances in a busy schedule over the next 18 months.
"I do actually enjoy playing with Jofra," said Wood. "He helps me and brings the best out of me and helps me get wickets."
"We have that combination where we both bowl quick but we're both different types of bowlers, I've been playing a new role in the 50-over side. Whereas before I was opening the bowling now I am first change."
"It is always great to play with Jof. I do feel like he helps me, I hope I help him. I'm not that frustrated because I understand that we're always being told from Chris Silverwood that we're going to be rested and rotated so when it comes to the crunch hopefully we're in and around each other like the World Cup," he concluded.
