Mark Wood Archives

Mark Wood sets unique record for England in Test cricket

NOTTINGHAM: Right-arm speedster Mark Wood on Friday, achieved a unique feat with his searing pace as he bowled the fastest over ever recorded for England at home in Test cricket.

Wood recorded the feat in the second Test of the three-match series between England and West Indies, currently underway at Trent Bridge.

The right-arm pacer, in his first over of the match, bowled a 93.9 mph (151.1 kph) thunderbolt to West Indian opener Mikyle Louis.

Louis found it tough to deal with Wood’s pace as he was beaten by another quick delivery, clocked at 96.1 mph (154.65 kph) delivery.

Wood’s next two deliveries were a touch slower, clocking at 95.2 mph (152.88 kph) and 92.2 mph (148.06 kph) before he bowled the quickest delivery of his spell — a 96.5 mph (155.30 kph) yorker.

He then bowled a 95.2 mph (153.20) delivery to conclude his fiery first over.

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Mark Wood was equally threatening in his next over as the pace of his deliveries was as follows: 95 mph (152 kph), 93 mph (149.66 kph), 95 mph (152 kph), 96 mph (154.49), 97.1 mph (156.26 kph) and 94 mph (151.27 kph).

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For the unversed, the fastest delivery Mark Wood has ever bowled came against Pakistan during the Multan Test in 2022 which clocked at at 156.6 kph.

He also bowled the fastest delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

After being put into bat first, England registered a massive total of 416 on the board, courtesy of a brilliant century by Ollie Pope.

Pope top-scored for England with 121 off 167 deliveries, hitting 16 deliveries, followed by Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes, who added valuable runs to the total with half-centuries.

PLAYING XIs

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Kevin Sinclair, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales.

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England unveil Playing XI for second West Indies Test

England have announced their Playing XI for the second Test match against the West Indies, scheduled to commence at Trent Bridge on Thursday, 18 July.

The hosts, who lead the three-match series 1-0, made one change to their Playing XI as Durham pacer Mark Wood replaced James Anderson, who concluded his decorated career on a winning note as England crushed West Indies by an innings and 114 runs in the first Test at Lord’s.

Wood, who has 108 international wickets to his name in the longest format, will pair up with in-form Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes to form England’s fast bowling unit, bolstered by their all-rounder captain Ben Stokes.

Youngster Shoaib Bashir will lead England’s spin bowling attack with Joe Root providing the cover.

England started their busy summer season on a high as Gus Atkinson’s heroics with the ball gave them a confidence-boosting victory.

The debutant pacer dismantled the West Indies batting lineup in the first innings with a seven-for. The touring side, as a result, only managed to register 121 runs on the board.

England batters banked on the momentum provided by Atkinson and scored 371 runs in response with Zak Crawley, debutant wicketkeeper batter Jamie Smith, Joe Root, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook scoring half-centuries.

Atkinson continued from where he left off and backed his seven-for with a five-wicket haul to steer England to a massive victory in the series opener.

England Playing XI for second West Indies Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c) Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.

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Mark Wood believes Australia “will play hard and fair” against Scotland

England’s right-arm speedster Mark Wood expressed his hope that arch-rivals Australia would play “hard and fair” in their last ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 group-stage fixture against Scotland.

Australia will face Scotland in their last group-stage fixture on Sunday which could decide England’s fate in the T20 World Cup 2024 even if they manage to beat Namibia in their remaining group match.

Scotland are currently second in Group B standings with five points in three matches while England climbed to the third with three points in as many matches.

The defending champions bolstered their net run rate by decimating Oman by eight wickets and 101 balls to spare.

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Earlier, Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood hinted at the possibility of exploiting England’s difficulty in the tournament in the post-match press conference.

“In this tournament, you potentially come up against England at some stage again and they’re probably one of the top few teams on their day,” stated Hazlewood.

“We’ve had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket, so if we can get them out of the tournament, that’s in our best interest as well as probably everyone else’s I think.

“It will be interesting to see, never really been in this position before as a team I don’t think.

“Whether we have discussions or not, or we just try and play again the way we played tonight, that will be up to people, not me.”

Reacting to Hazlewood’s comments, Mark Wood insisted that Australia would not deliberately lose to Scotland.

“I’m absolutely confident Australia will play the game the hardest, that’s the Australian way, that they’ll play hard but fair and try and get the win,” said Wood.

“I think that’s part of being England and Australia, isn’t it?” said Wood.

“I think actually I saw it more as a respect thing if I’m honest that he was saying that England have done well against Australia in the recent past and thinks we’re a big threat and a big team so I have no problem with it.”

READ: Pakistan knocked out of T20 World Cup as USA-Ireland clash washed out

England cannot treat Ben Stokes as a ‘messiah’, says Mark Wood

England must avoid regarding Ben Stokes as a “messiah” or a “Superman” if the champions are to get their World Cup 2023 campaign back on track, according to teammate Mark Wood.

England’s title defence got off to a woeful start when they suffered a nine-wicket defeat by New Zealand in Thursday’s opening match of the tournament – a game Stokes missed with a hip injury.

England’s test captain Ben Stokes is known for his ability across all three main formats to rescue England from difficult positions, notably during the team’s dramatic World Cup final win over New Zealand at Lord’s.

But fast bowler Mark Wood said other members of the team had to “stand up”.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on him,” Wood told the BBC. “He’s not Superman. It’s not all just about the messiah Stokesy coming back and him doing everything.

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“He’s obviously one of our best players, if not our best player, but all the lads have to stand up as well.”

Ben Stokes is only in India as a batsman rather than his usual all-rounder role because of a longstanding knee problem.

Wood was one of several England bowlers to suffer as New Zealand comfortably chased down a target of 283 inside 37 overs on Thursday, with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra both compiling impressive unbeaten hundreds.

“New Zealand played really well,” said express quick Wood, whose five overs cost 55 runs. “We were a bit off and they played really well. It’s as simple as that.”

But England, who next play Bangladesh on Tuesday, lost three group games in 2019 before winning the title.

“A great trait of the group is that sort of resilience and bouncing back and calmness,” said Wood. “I trust every member in there, they’ve been through bad times and good times.

“We know that we can do it.”

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Wood, Rehan out as England name 15-man squad for New Zealand Tests

LONDON: England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Friday unveiled a strong 15-member squad for the upcoming away Test series against New Zealand, scheduled to roll into action on February 16 2023.

The ECB made significant changes to their squad for Pakistan Tests as pacer Mark Wood and young spinner Rehan Ahmed have been left out of the squad, while three pacers returned to the team for New Zealand Tests.

Broad, who did not tour Pakistan for the historic series, alongside Durham pacer Matthew Potts and Nottinghamshire’s quick Olly Stone, made his return to the English squad.

Furthermore, Essex batter Dan Lawrence will also be returning to England’s squad for the longest format.

Meanwhile, both Wood and Rehan have been left out of the squad in a bid to manage their workload, while English skipper Ben Stokes had already hinted at not putting more pressure on an unfinished article Rehan.

“Durham fast bowler Mark Wood, who was impressive in the recent 3-0 victory over Pakistan, will take a break from all international and franchise cricket in January to fully recover after a busy winter in all formats,” said ECB in a statement.

“He is expected to tour Bangladesh in March, where England will play three ODIS and three IT20s.

“Leg spinner Rehan Ahmed, as part of his management for this winter, will go to the UAE T20 League in January with a view to joining up with the white-ball team in Bangladesh if selected in March.”

It is pertinent to mention that England will tour New Zealand to play two-match Test series from February 16 to 28.

England Test Squad: Ben Stokes (Durham), James Anderson (Lancashire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Will Jacks (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire)

England Men’s Test Tour of New Zealand Schedule:

First Test (Pink Ball): 16-20 February, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
Second Test: 24-28 February, Basin Reserve, Wellington

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PAK v ENG: Speedster Wood to replace Livingstone for Multan Test

MULTAN: England’s fiery pacer Mark Wood will replace injured Liam Livingstone in the second Test against Pakistan, commencing on Friday at Multan International Stadium.

England captain Ben Stokes on Thursday confirmed the inclusion of the right-arm pacer into the team, saying he would add to their abilities to take 20 wickets.

“Having someone in the squad who can bowl at 150 km per hour is a great bonus for any team,” he said on Tuesday in a scheduled press conference ahead of the Multan Test.

The spearhead pacer missed the opening Test due to fitness concerns as he was recovering from a hip injury he sustained during England’s successful T20 World Cup campaign. But Stokes has now confirmed that he is fully fit to play the second Test starting tomorrow.

England are leading the historic three-match series against Pakistan, the first in 17 years on the latter’s home soil, by 1-0 after their sensational win in the first Test by 74 runs in Rawalpindi.

Mark Wood likely to miss opening Test of Pakistan Tour: English Media

LONDON: England spearhead pacer Mark Wood is doubtful for the opening match of the historic Test series against Pakistan due to a hip injury, English newspaper The Telegraph reported on Friday.

According to the details, Wood sustained the injury amid England’s successful T20 World Cup campaign which forced him out of the semi-final against India and the final against Pakistan.

Despite Wood’s rehabilitation reportedly going well, it is improbable for the pacer to gain enough fitness to prepare himself for the rigours of a Test match with only three training days left before the series begins on December 1.

The right-arm pacer, however, will accompany England’s squad, scheduled to step foot in Pakistan on Sunday (November 27) to play a historic series after a gap of 17 years.

England Test captain Ben Stokes also confirmed that Wood’s absence from Abu Dhabi’s leg of training – where they played a training match against England Lions – had nothing to do with the latter’s injury and in fact, Wood, alongside Harry Brook was given time off at home due to excessive workload.

“No, we’re sticking with it,” said Stokes. “We’re not going to call up another seamer to this group.

“We took the decision to let Brooky and Woody spend that time at home, obviously being at Pakistan and the World Cup,” Stokes said. “We felt a week at home for them would be more beneficial, just to get their batteries recharged, and obviously with Woody’s injury, getting home and being around his wife and child would be better than being out here and getting all his rehab, which he could do at home.

“We’ve let them go home. I haven’t had much contact with them, just to let them chill out and relax. From all reports, Woody’s coming on nicely and we’ll see how he is when he gets out here.”

Despite Stokes’ refuting the probability of calling a seamer to the squad, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) made an eleventh-hour addition as Rehan Ahmed was officially called up to the Pakistan-bound squad.

It is worth mentioning here that the historic three-match series between Pakistan and England will be played in Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi, respectively from December 1 to 21.

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Babar Azam reveals one bowler he wants to hit for a six

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Babar Azam revealed the bowler he wants to hit for a six as the International Cricket Council (ICC) shared footage of him answering the rapid-fire questions.

In the video, released by the ICC, the host asked Babar several questions regarding his nickname and the cricketer he idolized, before asking about one bowler, the Pakistan captain wants to hit for a six.

In response, Babar named England speedster Mark Wood as the bowler he would like to hit for a maximum.

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Pakistan’s top batter then went on to reveal that shopping and playing Snooker as his hobbies besides cricket.

It is pertinent to mention that right-arm speedster Wood dismissed Babar twice in the recently-held seven-match T20I series between Pakistan and England.

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