England paceman Mark Wood has retired from international cricket on medical advice.

Wood debuted for England in all three formats in 2015 but has battled persistent injuries throughout his international career. 

Having missed 15 months due to elbow and left knee issues in 2024 and 2025, he returned to England's red-ball setup for their first Ashes Test in Australia last November.

However, he was restricted to just 11 overs with the ball before suffering from swelling in the same knee that had troubled him since the Champions Trophy the previous year, and he was subsequently forced out of the series.

On Tuesday, Wood took to social media to explain his decision to step down with immediate effect, though he hopes to continue playing T20 cricket at franchise level.

"Although this may not come as a surprise given the past year, it just feels like a natural time at the end of my contract," Wood said in a statement posted to Instagram.

"I've always tried to be resilient and come back from injury to prove people wrong and show everyone what I can do. Unfortunately, this time I lost the battle.

"On medical advice, Test cricket and 50-over cricket are not possible, so the England dream has slowly been ground out of me over the last year.

"Playing for England has been the greatest honour I could have ever wished for and a dream come true."

We'll miss you Woody 

Full interview  https://t.co/BCWsMIqd6T pic.twitter.com/nVpS0ODm7d

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 22, 2026

Wood took 253 wickets in 146 international appearances for England across all three formats, including 119 dismissals in 38 Tests, 41 of which came in 12 Ashes Tests against Australia, which spanned four different series. 

He helped England win World Cups in the ODI (in 2019) and T20I (2022) formats, taking 18 wickets at the former tournament and nine in the latter.