Mark Wood accepts England's Twenty20 whitewash over South Africa meant his own omission from the series proved "the right call" but is raring to reassert himself with a leading role in the next leg of the tour.
England kept an unchanged XI throughout the 3-0 victory as they looked to build towards next year's T20 World Cup, leaving Wood, Moeen Ali, Sam Billings and Reece Topley on the outside looking in.
Things are due to change for the three-match one-day series starting on Friday, with Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Chris Jordan all excused following their excursions in the Indian Premier League.
Paceman Wood has more reason than most to be look forward to it, having featured in just six of England's 21 internationals since the sport returned from its coronavirus shutdown – a frustrating return for a three-format player at the peak of his powers.
On Wednesday morning the International Cricket Council announced that the 33-year-old had set a new record in its T20 ranking system, retaining his number one spot with an unprecedented 915 points.
Malan has now passed 50 on 10 occasions in just 19 T20 appearances, the fastest player ever to to do so, six matches quicker than the great Chris Gayle.
"We had that stat read out to us this morning," Wood said.
"Gayle calls himself the 'Universe Boss' so we've started calling Mala the 'Milky Way Boss'."
