Mark Wood is not a Geordie sure of his place in the England fast-bowling pecking order - but he is glad to be back. Figures of 1 for 57 on his first ODI appearance in almost a year were not as arresting as the fact that his fastest delivery was clocked at 92.7mph, during a hostile opening spell in which he helped put Pakistan on the back foot in the first match of the series in Southampton.Following two operations on his left ankle, and ten months out of the England side, Wood has hurtled back into contention following a series of vibrant displays. A couple of his one-day squad-mates can attest to that, after a searing contribution to Durhams NatWest Blast semi-final win over Yorkshire on Saturday, in which he gave Joe Root a torrid working-over - five balls, several hurried prods, one run - and yorked Jonny Bairstow on the way to career-best T20 figures of 4 for 25.Root, whose 61 helped England to a comfortable DLS victory on Wednesday, could barely lay a bat on Wood in their Finals Day encounter - a problem he has solved by giving it away to his tormentor. For Wood, it has been an immensely satisfying comeback after missing most of the winter and half of the English season recovering from his injured ankle.I had more than a little bit of frustration over the last few months, Wood said. To come back with Durham so strongly is amazing. The coach there, Jon Lewis, and the way that the whole England medical team have looked after me, they deserve huge credit. Jon Lewis basically said to not worry about going for runs and to concentrate on taking wickets and that confidence and getting a few wickets and playing the role that I did at Durham gave me the confidence to come back to the England set-up fresh.That was my best Twenty20 bowling performance for sure. I havent seen the paces but a couple of the Yorkshire lads said I bowled well and getting that recognition from international players is always nice. One of them in particular is a pretty good batsman so I was very happy that he was saying it was tough and I even just swapped a bat with him now so that must be some sort of recognition. I think its because I bowled so well at him, Joe obviously wasnt so fond of that one so hes given it to me.The surgery has allowed Wood to play without discomfort in his ankle when bowling and he believes that will enable him to maintain his pace from spell to spell, in particular over back-to-back matches, an area where there were previously concerns about his durability.I would say Im consistently quicker, he said. I wouldnt say quicker at my top speed, but I have not got the pain in the back of my ankle, which was causing me huge problems. People were saying I could not play back-to-back games, but it wasnt that I couldnt play back-to-back, [it was that] I couldnt bowl at 90mph every day and Im a totally different bowler bowling 90mph to when I am bowling 80mph. I need that pace and with no pain in the back of my ankle, I find that a lot easier on my body and that allows me to do that. Consistently it is a lot better for me.While Wood at top speed ranks among the quickest bowlers currently playing the game, he is less concerned than some about raw pace - the analyst gets quite worked up when I come in and he says youre bowling at 92 - and recognises he is more likely to be judged for England on wickets and economy. As Woods first over, in which Sharjeel Khan picked up two boundaries, demonstrated, extra velocity can sometimes cut both ways. I think the third ball, off Sharjeels bat, went about 98mph, so he was winning that one. Not that Wood will be looking to dial it down in pursuit of something more metronomically reliable. Having returned midway through the season, he has dived headlong into competitive action and believes he could still bowl quicker yet.I reckon I could, yeah. When you get that rhythm and match fitness back, he said. Ive been rushed back through to get some game-time having missed the first half of the summer, and Ive been desperate to play so Ive not really had that time where Ive been getting used to bowling and bowling again. Ive only played two Championship games, and in one of those I only bowled 14 overs. So if I get that match fitness back up, hopefully I can bowl even quicker.Wood formed part of a three-man pace attack at the Ageas Bowl, alongside Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett. With David Willey hopeful of returning to action after the hand injury he sustained on Finals Day, Chris Jordan and Jake Ball also in the squad, Steven Finn recuperating from a hamstring tear and James Anderson and Stuart Broad filling out the options for the Test side, England look like having a considerable seam battery to call upon.For now, Wood is focused on proving himself worthy of a place - England have still to see the best of him in ODIs, with six wickets from eight appearances at an average of 66.83 - but there is another layer of uncertainty due to his contractual situation at Durham. Should his central contract not be renewed by the ECB, there are doubts about whether Durham could afford to retain him, but reigniting his international career remains the quickest (in every sense) route to a resolution.Its complicated off the field at Durham, everyone knows there are issues there, Wood said. My situation is to focus solely on getting back in the England team first. I love the north-east, Im a north-east lad.Am I confident of a central contract? I wouldnt say so, but I know that part of the reason that we give out central contracts is to look after fast bowlers and things like that. If I was to fall into that category that would be brilliant. Getting looked after by such a superb medical team that I talked about before, theyve been superb with us. Theyve looked after me tremendously well, to be honest.So I wouldnt say Im confident because Ive not played for England for a long time, and throughout this year I probably havent deserved to get another one, so well just have to wait and see. But in terms of Durham, Im focusing on England at the moment and Ill see what happens there come September. China Cheap Jerseys . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. MLB Jerseys China . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. http://www.nfljerseyschinasale.com/ . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. NFL Jerseys Cheap .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. NFL Jerseys Wholesale . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. BORDEAUX, France -- Despite missing more penalties in one shootout than it had done in 40 years of taking spot-kicks after extra time, Germany still managed to end its curse against Italy.Thomas Mueller, Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger all missed in Saturdays shootout after the sides finished 1-1 following extra time in their European Championship quarterfinal.Fortunately, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer spared their blushes with two saves as Italy missed four spot-kicks and Germany went on to win 6-5, securing the teams first competitive victory over the Azzurri at the ninth attempt.It was a war of nerves, Neuer said.Only two German players had ever missed in a tournament shootout before -- Uli Hoeness as West Germany lost the 1976 European Championship final 5-3 to Czechoslovakia, and Uli Stielike as West Germany defeated France 5-4 in the 1982 World Cup semifinal.It was a dramatic shootout in Bordeaux, featuring 18 spot kicks with neither side striking a decisive blow before it went to `sudden death.Ive never experienced a penalty shootout like it before. It went on for ages. Im not sure how many penalties there were exactly, Neuer said.There had been a penalty beforehand too, scored by Leonardo Bonucci in the 78th minute to cancel out Ozils opener from 13 minutes before.With extra time almost at an end, Italy coach Antonio Conte brought on penalty specialist Simone Zaza on for Giorgio Chiellini, but the move backfired when he missed after an unconventional trot up to the ball.Then Muellers curious failure to score at a European Championship came back to haunt him when his effort was saved by Italy veteran Gianluigi Buffon.Andrea Barzzagli scored before Ozil struck the post, leaving Italy with a 2-1 lead.dddddddddddd Then Graziano Pelle dragged his effort wide and Julian Draxler equalized to make it 2-2.Germany had the advantage when Neuer saved Bonuccis spot kick.I didnt want to let Bonucci score a second time, the Germany goalkeeper said.But German celebrations were cut short when Schweinsteiger, who could have sealed victory by converting his spot-kick, struck his effort well over.Neither side missed their next three penalties. Then Neuer saved Matteo Darmians spot kick, paving the way for Jonas Hector to be the hero with the winning shot.Im delighted that it went in, Hector said. There werent many more people there (to take a penalty). I took my heart in my hand and just wanted to make sure it went in.Hectors strike penalty ended a winless curse against Italy that dated back to their first meeting at the 1962 World Cup.After so many years or decades we were due a win against Italy, German football federation president Reinhard Grindel said. From that point of view, the right ones had the luck that you need in a shootout.Germany coach Joachim Loew had tried a new tactical setup with a three-man defense, but in the end it was an old friend -- the penalty kick -- that provided the key to victory.However, Neuer is anxious to avoid a similar situation when the team plays a semifinal against France or Iceland in Marseille on Thursday.You cant just rely on the fact that Germany comes through every time theres a penalty shootout, Neuer said. ' ' '