Mark Wood feels his pace is now more consistent than ever before and, while thoughts about the speed gun do not enter his head during the process of propelling a cricket ball over 90mph, the England fast bowler fancies he can go quicker still.
Wednesday’s rain-affected one-day victory over Pakistan in Southampton was the 26-year-old’s first cap in nine months, having missed the first half of the season due to ankle surgery in November and then April that – touch wood – appear to have addressed the chronic pain at both the front and back of his left ankle that cut short his breakthrough season last October.
There is nothing quite like pace on the ball to get an audience buzzing, be it in the ground or at home, and, although Wood’s figures of one for 57 from 10 overs in his comeback do not jump off the scorebook, the thrill of seeing a fast bowler roaring in and touching 93mph goes beyond the numbers, even if Sharjeel Khan, who feathered behind trying to pull one such exocet, may not share this sentiment.
Having been back bowling for a month and fresh from lighting up T20 Finals Day last Saturday – his four wickets helped Durham fell Yorkshire in their semi-final, only for Northamptonshire to prove a game too far – Wood is in a buoyant mood at present, tempered only by an awareness that two three-wicket hauls prior to his extended lay-off represent his best returns from 17 international games.
“It’s great to be back in the team; it’s nice to be bowling quick but ultimately I’ll be judged on wickets,” said Wood after England’s victory by 44 on Duckworth-Lewis. “I had more than a little bit of frustration over the last few months, so to come back so strongly is amazing. My head coach at Durham, Jon Lewis, and the whole England medical team, deserve huge credit.”
Asked whether he is now quicker than before his two operations, Wood replied: “I would say consistently quicker. I wouldn’t say quicker in terms of my top speed but I have not got the pain in the back of my ankle which was causing me huge problems. People were saying I could not play back-to-back games but it wasn’t that, more that I couldn’t bowl at 90mph every day – and I am a totally different bowler bowling 90mph from when I am bowling 80mph.”
Pace, however, is not something that actively crosses Wood’s mind at the top of his mark, rather skill and hostility. “The analyst guy gets pretty worked up when I come back into the dressing room – “you bowled 92” – so he lets me know. But when I’m bowling, I’m not thinking about how quick I’m trying to bowl. It’s either a plan or trying to knock someone’s head off.”
Can he go faster still? “I reckon I could, yeah. I’ve been rushed back through to get some game time, having missed the first half of the summer, and I’ve been desperate to play. I’ve played only two Championship games and in one of those I bowled only 14 overs so, if I get that match-fitness back up, hopefully I can bowl even quicker.”
Such speeds, generated from his short, sprinter’s run-up through to his explosion at the crease, still needs harnessing, of course, and it is in this regard the England management are impressed by Wood’s hunger to learn and his progress to date, given that fitness issues have meant his career remains in its infancy in terms of matches played.
The player himself hopes this promise results in a second central contract in September, upon which his future at Durham could hinge; no deal from England may see the cash-strapped county unable to retain his services, a situation Wood hopes will not come to pass.
He said: “It’s complicated off the field at Durham and everyone knows there are issues there. I love the north-east, I’m a north-east lad. Am I confident of a central contract? I wouldn’t say so. Because I’ve not played for England for a long time I probably haven’t deserved to get another one. But I know that part of the reason that they give them out is to look after fast bowlers. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’m focusing on England at the moment and I’ll see what happens there come September.”
His England one-day captain, Eoin Morgan, when asked before the series about Wood, was quick to talk up the talents of Liam Plunkett – another to nudge above the hallowed 90mph mark during Pakistan’s innings – and with Chris Woakes the slipperiest Englishman on show during the Test summer, and Ben Stokes straining at the leash to bowl after a calf problem, it is hard to think of a speedier set during Morgan’s 18 months in charge. Come Twenty20 time, there is the option of the Sussex left-armer Tymal Mills, too.
Lord’s on Saturday is next up for Morgan’s side who, judging by the first fixture, already appear to have greater power through their batting line-up than Pakistan to go with this stable of quicks. The tourists need to find answers soon or the series could be over fast.
