WHIZZ BANG
Wood zooms back to help zip up victory
MARK WOOD made his longawaited England return and immediately turned the heat all the way up to 97 on the Pakistani batters.
That is 97 miles per hour, too hot to handle for most players as they try to react in the blink of an eye, only to find that they are still too late on the ball.
Wood’s extreme pace gave England the weapon they had been badly missing the night before in Karachi, when they failed to take a single wicket.
This time he grabbed three as England triumphed by 63 runs, comfortably defending their total of 221-3 to take a 2-1 lead in the seven-match series.
It was 22 more runs than they made in the second match courtesy of a brilliant innings of 81 not out from Harry Brook that would have claimed all the headlines until Wood charged into the game.
“It was very nice to get out there and put in a match-winning performance,” said Brook. “It was about having a solid game plan and sticking to it.”
While Brook’s innings was special and will go some way towards pushing his case for a starting spot in the World Cup side in Australia, Wood’s impact was seismic and came at just the right time ahead of that tournament.
Skipper Moeen Ali said: “That really was quick, serious pace. We need him firing like that at the World Cup.”
The 32-year-old has not played all summer due to an elbow injury and instead the target has been the World Cup.
And, as long as there is no adverse reaction, Wood appears to have timed his run to perfection.
“I’m tired,” he said. “I’ve not played since March and the intensity of international cricket means it is tiring.
“The body feels ok. I’ve done a lot of gym work but nothing beats playing a game. You tend to be fresh after seven months out! I’ve got to back it up now.
“I don’t want to go too hard now, the adrenaline was flying but I need to peak for the World Cup.”
Fresh from his unbeaten ton on Thursday, Babar Azam was given a jolt by a rapid Wood bouncer and the next ball he could only flash it down to third man for Reece Topley to catch.
Haider Ali fell in his next over with Mohammad Rizwan sandwiched in between as the impressive Topley’s own victim on his return to the side.
Will Jacks made his international debut and shone at the top of the order with 40 after being presented with his cap by Surrey team-mate Sam Curran. Jacks said: “It is a moment I’ve worked very hard for so it was pretty amazing to get that cap and what a place to make my debut, I’m buzzing.”
Once he was third out it cleared the way for Brook to join Ben Duckett and set about the Pakistani bowling with ruthless quality.
The pair added an unbroken 139 to set a new England T20 record for the fourth wicket, beating Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen’s mark of 112 – and there is more than a hint of the latter’s ability in Brook.