Wood on fire England quick takes five wickets to floor Windies
Fired-up fast bowler puts England in control Hosts skittled out after tourists add only 46 runs
It cannot be ranked the greatest spell of fast bowling ever for England – because the series had been lost – but Mark Wood’s before tea on the second afternoon of this third Test was probably the fastest.
Wood’s first 19 deliveries were not merely hair but helmet-raising. He bowled much faster than the wind – although as it blew from wide mid-off it was a useful aid – and he was visibly faster even than the West Indian opening bowlers, Shannon Gabriel, who had ramped up his pace to 93mph earlier in the day, or Kemar Roach, who had taken four of England’s wickets in their working total of 277, giving England a lead of 123, which was extended to 142 after the tourists closed day two on 19 without loss.
Official timings of pace bowlers often say as much about the pitch or the make of speed-gun as the bowler; and Hawk-eye’s data dates back only to 2005, with other types of speed-guns tried since World Series Cricket in 1979. Once a bowler’s pace rises above 90mph, however, and most batsmen can only twitch in response, the bounce and lateral movement are more significant than another mile or two per hour: better – or more threatening – a 95mph throat-ball than a 100mph half-volley.
For those 19 balls, when the inspiration was upon him, Wood had it all. As much as anything it was an expression of joie de vivre, or joie de jouer, because this is only Wood’s 13th Test owing to his pesky left ankle – and he is now 29, with few years left to make his impact on speed-guns or Test batsmen. So he bounded in from the media end – the end closer to the Caribbean and the beaches of Rodney Bay – with the enthusiasm of a colt on discovering it has become a racehorse.
It is a credit to the England coaching staff that on their advice Wood lengthened his run-up before Christmas, thereby enabling him to reach his maximum pace. It might also be asked why, after he had replaced Olly Stone at the start of this tour, he was not selected before: he might have been more suited to Barbados than Adil Rashid. In Antigua, too, he would have benefited from the uneven surface.
As for the future, Wood cannot be expected to play five in a row against Australia – not at his new pace with his ankles – but England’s Ashes prospects will only be enhanced if Wood is fit and can turn his speed up for the two London Tests, where the flatness of Lord’s and the Oval has been known to defeat England’s fast-medium bowlers.
Wood’s little innings had already conveyed his zest: he clipped his first ball for an all-run four, after Jonny Bairstow had toughed out an hour for two runs before being bowled on a pitch that had dried and quickened since day one.
Gabriel had almost decapitated Bairstow with a 93 mph bouncer, while Roach was ferocious with the newish second ball, as England’s six overnight wickets could add no more than 46 runs. A very slow out
field, however, has to be taken into account, so their total of 277 was competitive.
Another factor was that West Indies had won the series already, so their batsmen were not going to sell their wickets quite as dearly as they had.
Or this is the only possible explanation for Kraigg Brathwaite being so slap-happy that he ran down the pitch after an opening stand of 57 and gave deep mid-wicket catching practice. No better illustration of the need for a batsman who is “in” to shoulder responsibility than England soon being on a hat-trick, twice.
Next ball, Moeen Ali took his second wicket when John Campbell aimed to leg and missed: the best partner for an express bowler is a spinner at the other end. Cue for Wood to mark out his new run and deliver the 22nd over of the West Indian innings.
Wood’s first three balls ripped past the outside edge of Shai Hope, while the fourth was a bouncer that naturally made Hope reluctant to move his front foot towards the next ball. Thus, the fifth ball of Wood’s opening over flew off the outside edge to gully, where Rory Burns warmed up with a smart if straightforward catch.
Roston Chase, on the back foot in every sense, fended away the sixth ball of Wood’s opening over and Burns, half salmon, half goalkeeper, took an even sharper catch. Already Wood was falling over in hurling himself at the batsman.
In Wood’s second over, he touched his top recorded pace of 94.6 mph: this ball would have completed his hat-trick if the lefthanded Shimron Hetmyer had been dismissed. In Wood’s third over, his pace still vivid, Hetmyer slashed a drive over the slips.
Time for one more Wood over before tea, at the young Hetmyer, not the more mature Darren Bravo. It was another screamer of a ball – at which Hetmyer could only twitch – and another screamer of a catch, by Joe Root at first slip, which he juggled by his left armpit. At tea, Wood’s figures were 3.1-2-12-3.
Afterwards Wood’s pace dropped a touch, naturally: a fast bowler’s quickest balls are normally his seventh or eighth. His fourth wicket, that of Bravo, was caught on the way down to first slip.
After eight overs in all, Wood had a rest, watched Stuart Broad take a brilliant back-pedalling onehanded catch, then returned to castle Gabriel for his first fivewicket Test haul.
Above all, for Wood, it made worthwhile three operations and the lonely hours of motorway driving to Loughborough, and weeks – or rather months – of physiotherapy, not to mention the doubts about whether he would ever play cricket again.