Wood needs confidence in ankle ahead of Champions Trophy - Root

Eoin Morgan and Joe Root, England's ODI and Test captains, are keeping a close eye on the form and confidence of their strike bowler, Mark Wood, both with a view to short-term glory in next month's Champions Trophy and also a successful defence of the Ashes in Australia this winter.

Though Wood impressed in patches in the two-match ODI series again Ireland, not least with a well-directed yorker to seal a 2-0 victory at Lord's, his well-documented injury problems meant that he was visibly feeling his way back to top pace in the course of the two matches.

"He looked sharp, probably more so in the second game than the first, and yesterday [Lord's] was a slower wicket as well," said Morgan. "It's about building back his confidence. He can play as many county games as he likes but, until you get out on the international stage, with the cameras, it's unrealistic to expect him to bowl 95mph straight away."

Morgan believes that, emotionally, Wood is over the trauma of three ankle operations in the space of 12 months, the most recent coming in October, not least because of the way that the ECB have rallied round to support his rehabilitation and guarantee his importance to the national set-up.

"He got his central contract back again, which reassures him that he's not going back to a county contract again, or that that county contract would be in jeopardy," said Morgan. "That would be worrying. But the support that he gets from all the support staff, and the ECB itself, reinforces the fact that he is part of our future and that gives him confidence.

"I think that if he does break down again, which hopefully he won't, he'll have that support again and infrastructure to aid him in any way. I think it's very important, because we don't have a great tradition of producing fast bowlers, so when they come around we need to support him really well."

Wood's ability to bowl at extreme pace won't just be an asset in the Champions Trophy either. Further afield, England face South Africa in a high-profile Test series in July, before attention begins to turn towards the Ashes defence in Australia this winter.

Root, who will captain England for the first time against South Africa in July, knows at first hand just how awkward Wood can be when he's on song, having, by his own admission, been made "made to look a mug" during Durham's victory over Yorkshire in the NatWest T20 Blast semi-final at Edgbaston last summer. And while Root would relish the involvement of a fully-fit Wood to take on Australia in November, he knows that such a prospect is largely out of his hands at this stage of the season.

"First of all, we need to make sure he's fit for the Champions Trophy, and then see how his body is," Root said. "Hopefully he'll be another option in terms of Test cricket later this summer, but there's no point in looking too far ahead.

"There is a psychological element to [coming back from injury]," Root added. "By the time we play in the Champions Trophy, you can't ease into any spell, you've got to be ready from ball one, and that's what he's got to try and get right leading up to the tournament.

"With all due respect to Ireland, if you are playing against the best nations, if you are not quite on it, they will punish you and that can be devastating. It's been a very good comeback from Woody, and a great start, but it's a great opportunity now to go through the next stage and get himself in a really good place, feeling confident in the ankle and ready to go from the off."