In the history of cricket, only three players have bowled at 100mph. In Mark Wood, England hope they have the fourth.
At Trent Bridge last week, Wood bowled fast. In fact, where records exist, he bowled faster than any England bowler in history.
Since 2006, every ball in international cricket has been tracked, and Wood’s first over at Nottingham was the fastest ever recorded by an England player. His quickest ball of the day hit 97.1mph.
“He seems to be getting closer and closer to that,” said Ben Stokes of whether Wood could make history and join the 100 club. “But I’m happy with what he’s doing right now. Being able to sustain that pace is quite phenomenal.”
The figure is as much a point of legend as it is anything practical. For years, it was believed to be impossible, before Shoaib Akhtar delivered a moment of history to England’s Nick Knight in the 2003 World Cup with a ball that was recorded at 100.2mph. It has been done only twice since, by Brett Lee in 2005 and Shaun Tait in 2010.
“We probably wouldn’t hear the end of it,” joked Stokes at the expense of his good friend Wood. “Who knows? He’s got it in the tank. He’s been close a couple of times, so maybe one day.
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“Look at his average speeds every time he plays a Test match, it’s always above 90mph. That says a lot about his fitness. It’s all fine and well trying to bowl one spell above 90, but every spell he bowls for England he’s clocking over 90, and that’s a great thing to have as a captain.”
At 34, Wood is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but a strictly-managed workload and a relatively injury-free past two years have seen him grow in importance in this team; a trend that is set to continue, with Stokes targeting the Ashes late next year as the No1 priority, and high pace being a key part of that plan.
“I’ve seen him bowl for years,” Stokes said, when asked whether he was surprised by the pace Wood achieved at Trent Bridge. “Even that spell at Headingley, Third Test against Australia [last year]. It’s not surprising, it’s great to watch. I’d much rather have him in my team rather than having to have my helmet and pads on facing him.
“I don’t know if he’s actually too bothered about it. One day everything might click, or the speed gun might be wrong. Who knows? But, look, I’m happy as Larry him running up and bowling it 97mph at his fastest. He’s averaging 92mph, so that’s pretty good!”
Wood missed the First Test of this West Indies series, rested after the T20 World Cup, but ahead of the start of Friday’s third and final Test here, England decided to stick with an unchanged team.
The expectation had been that one of Matthew Potts or the uncapped Dillon Pennington would play in the series, with England trying to learn as much as possible about their squad depth over the summer, but the high pace of Wood, the solidity of Chris Woakes and the record-breaking start from Gus Atkinson meant that Stokes declined to shuffle the pack.
“Gus has been phenomenal,” Stokes said. “His Lord’s debut was sensational and last week again. He’s always looked threatening with every spell he’s bowled and shown why we think so highly of him. Woody came back and added that X-factor, and it’s great having two guys to turn to to blow the game open.”
On the unused Potts and Pennington, Stokes added: “No one is in the squad to make numbers up. They have earned their place in the squad.”
West Indies won the toss on Friday morning and decided to bat first.
