Mark Wood has warned lightning will strike twice at Old Trafford after promising to send down another barrage of thunderbolts as ordered by skipper Ben Stokes.
Wood might have been kept on ice until the third do-or-die Test at Headingley, but he has broken this Ashes series wide open with his player-of-the-match intervention. He sent down the quickest over recorded in Test cricket on English soil on Thursday and it rocked the Aussie lineup top to bottom.
And the Durham dynamo revealed that it was a request from his great mate Stokes that got him in the zone and he will be ready for more of the same next week. “Stokesy just asked ‘are you ready? Are you ready to bowl some thunderbolts?’ I said yes, and that was it,” said Wood.
“I know him well, and he knows me well. Having that relationship with someone makes it easier. He was ready to unleash me. Lightning strikes twice, eh.
“I did four in Australia, three of them were in a row. It’s a big ask, but one I’ve done before, and I will lean on that experience to try to do it again. I will speak to the physio, but I imagine I will bowl once or twice, a couple of gym sessions, maybe some running but it won’t be too drastic.
“I have to let the body recover. It’s my first game in a very, very long time, especially in Test cricket. I will get myself in a good space, let the wounds recover and get myself up for the next one.”
And having delivered the goods on home soil for the first time, taking his maiden five wicket haul on an English ground, Wood is keen to keep challenging himself against the World Champion Aussies. That extends to his work with the bat too after his eight-ball 24 narrowed the lead in the first innings and his 16 not out turned a nervy situation into a walk in the park.
Wood might be dishing out plenty of the short stuff when he’s charging in, but he’s also shown he can handle it with a bat in his hand too thanks to the work he has been putting in behind the scenes. And it all paid off on Sunday as he stood at the other end when Chris Woakes hit the winning runs.
“All I’ve done is practise facing bouncers for two weeks,” revealed Wood. “I haven’t practised anything pitched up, that’s genuine. Colly has been slinging those yellow balls. They sting but don’t hurt. You get used to playing the shot, and getting in strong positions.
“It’s challenging because they are a top, top side. It fills me with great pride to say I can do well against Australia. Look at facing Cummins and Starc. One, it’s not easy. Two, it’s really intimidating.
“They’re bowling fast, they get good bounce. More often than not they come out on top. That was one of the best feelings I’ve had. I’ve been in that position a lot where I’ve lost the game, that’s the first time I’ve been able to bat to win the game.
“Especially being there with Woakesy. We car shared all week, we got a lucky car parking space, and we promised that we’d get runs and wickets.” Wood and his team-mates have captured the imagination just like his heroes of 2005 and there could be more to come.
“It’s great to have that support,” he said. “You feel it on the street walking around, people messaging. It’s amazing as a nation that we can carry this weight of support with us.”
