Good news has been in short supply for England’s cricketers during this Ashes series but some arrived for Mark Wood in the shape of the new year honours list: his father was awarded an OBE for services to pensioners for his work at the Department for Work and Pensions in the north-east.
Derek Wood was also among the first to sample his son’s speeds in the back garden at home in Ashington. “We had to stop when I was about 13,” the younger Wood told me six years ago, shortly after winning his first Test call-up. “We had a long thin garden and I’d charge in from the conifers at the back. I kept hitting him on the head.”
Fast forward to the present day, with England 3-0 down and only a whitewash to dodge, and it is hard not to sigh when pondering Wood and a missed opportunity. Jofra Archer has been a loss, no question, but for the first time in a long time – perhaps going back to Frank Tyson in 1954-55 – England still pitched up in Australia with the fastest bowler on either side; certainly the fastest in a generation of Englishmen and, in terms of sustained pace in Test cricket, the fastest in the world.
The latter may surprise a few people but the analysts CricViz only have it one way: since the start of 2020 no Test quick can top Wood’s average speed of 88.2mph (142kph), while his pace on this tour, averaging 90mph (144.91kph), is the highest by a visiting bowler to Australia since Hawk-Eye data began in 2006. Four years on from a 4-0 Ashes defeat that highlighted England’s need for speed, here it is.
But for how long? Wood’s physical hardiness has been questionable in the past but since lengthening his run-up and smoothing things out at the end of 2018 he is now consistently producing eye-popping numbers on the speed gun. Yet with him about to turn 32, his best work coming overseas and with white-ball specialism clearly an option in his final years, the sight of Wood in the whites of England haring in should be savoured.
Pace isn’t everything. A skiddy trajectory from 5ft 11in makes the ideal length a tricky balancing act on these surfaces and five wickets at 32 does not jump off the page (even if he beat the bat with such regularity in Brisbane as to wonder whether he had walked under ladder).
Nevertheless, seeing David Warner’s back leg twitch at the point of release, Steve Smith nick off for 12 at the Gabba to a smart plan executed at 91.6mph or Marnus Labuschagne similarly edging behind for one at the MCG, there have been flashes of what might have been for England had the batters not wilted.
“We know we haven’t scored the runs to help the bowling attack,” said Jos Buttler. “Woody has bowled fantastically well and any time he has the ball in hand it’s exciting. When someone can bowl at that pace – and from ball one he’s up at that mark – it’s an incredibly exciting asset to have in your team.
“At times he’s bowled without much luck as well. At Melbourne he could certainly have picked up more wickets for how well he bowled.
“But yeah, we know that we haven’t scored the runs to give the bowling attack that sort of base that we’ve needed. Having kept to him, he is bowling as quick as ever and he looks fantastic.”
Chris Silverwood is a good man and the head coach deserves sympathy as he sits in isolation in Melbourne. Cricket-wise there have been too many errors on this tour, however, and the decision to rest Wood in Adelaide after bowling 25.1 overs in the first Test must sit among them.
Silverwood and Joe Root spoke of a need for Wood to play a fuller role later in the series, but this was just one example of their failure to grasp that defeat in the second Test meant there would be no “later in the series”. The phrase “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” kept coming out, when England simply had to burst out of the blocks.
Having bowled in only two innings through the inadequacies of others, and with six days of rest between matches boosted to eight thanks to the battergeddon in Melbourne, there seems little reason why Wood will not play in the fourth Test at Sydney, starting on Wednesday. The SCG has replaced the MCG as the pitch that causes the most angst locally these days and, if as flat as expected, his clear point of difference may well be required to transcend conditions.
Elsewhere, however, England have slightly painted themselves into a corner, dropping Rory Burns and Ollie Pope in Melbourne and seeing little difference in the result. The former has been working with Graham Thorpe in the nets to calm down his idiosyncratic movements but may not get an instant return unless concerns over Haseeb Hameed’s retreat prove too great.
Should England decide they want to look to the future, it may also be that Jonny Bairstow at No 6 drops out after just one Test. If so, Dan Lawrence could find himself the latest reserve asked to play without meaningful preparation.
Australia will be forced into at least one change with Travis Head, their leading run scorer of these Ashes, having tested positive for Covid-19. All other results came back negative and logically Usman Khawaja should feature at the ground where his 171 four years ago ground England into the dust.
There are further decisions to be made, with Scott Boland perhaps dropping down now Jhye Richardson is fit again, despite the 32-year-old’s remarkable figures of six for seven at the MCG.
Ultimately, Pat Cummins and his head coach, Justin Langer, do not have to stress too much, even if their batters will still need to be on high alert when Wood starts charging in from the conifers once more.
