Fast bowlers fill void left by James Anderson, while paying tribute to retired great
Alan Gardner30-Jul-2024What’s the one thing better than having a 90mph fast bowler at your disposal? Being able to call on two quick men, of course. England’s new-look Test attack gave a glimpse of what might be possible in overseas conditions that tend to drawn the sting of medium-pace seam and swing – although both Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson paid tribute to James Anderson for his input as the team’s bowling mentor following his retirement one match into the series with West Indies.Wood bowled three of the fastest overs ever delivered by an Englishman (since speeds start to be reliably recorded two decades ago) in the second Test, although he had to wait for his rewards. Having taken 2 for 88 in the match at Trent Bridge, followed by 2 for 52 in the first innings of the third Test, at Edgbaston, he went in at lunch on day three with 0 for 31 from eight overs and feeling despondent.A chat with Anderson helped Wood maintain focus on the skill of bowling, rather than the outcome – and his ensuing spell was one for the record books, as the 34-year-old claimed 5 for 9 in six overs of rapid reverse-swing to set England on course for a 10-wicket win.Related
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“I was probably thinking too much: ‘Why am I not getting wickets?’ But Jimmy was great with me,” Wood said. “So too was Jeetan Patel and some of the other staff – just thinking about the process and, when the ball was reversing, Jimmy put in my mind more about, like, tactically what I would try to do with the ball. Some here, some there, field placings – and it sort of took my mind off it a little bit and when you get the first wicket, then the confidence came back and I stopped thinking about other stuff and then I just bowled.”While Wood was named Player of the Match for his efforts, England’s Player of the Series went to Atkinson for his 22 wickets at 16.22. Atkinson claimed 12 on debut at Lord’s, bowling alongside Anderson, before graduating to taking the new ball in his absence – but still benefiting from the advice of England’s most-prolific bowler of all time as he settled into a new role in the dressing-room.”He doesn’t need to offer too much,” Atkinson said of Anderson’s input. “I think there’s small things, little questions where he gives you confidence in yourself. Getting that from someone like Jimmy means a lot and really helps. I am looking forward to working with Jimmy again in the future.”Atkinson impressed with both his pace and his ability to move the ball, largely using a scrambled seam. Although not as quick as Wood, who was regularly in the 93-97mph region, Atkinson said that he was working on delivering consistently higher speeds over longer spells. He also revealed that he had made changes to his run-up since the tour to of India in January-March, withdrawing from his IPL deal with Kolkata Knight Riders to focus on his technical work which involved – like Wood – making it longer.”I changed my run-up. That was something I felt I needed to do. I didn’t feel consistent at the crease, so improving my run-up has helped a lot. That is the reason why I pulled out of the IPL, to get ready for the Test summer. I feel playing for Surrey in the Championship was important. Equally playing in the Blast helped me get rhythm for the series. I have done anything too crazy but just a few changes with my run up – [straighter] and it’s about three metres longer as well.”Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson brought a different dynamic to England’s attack•Darren Staples/AFP/Getty Images
On matching Wood’s impact on the speed gun, he said: “It will be pretty tough to get up to that sort of pace, but I will always be looking to improve my pace. It’s my first time playing three games back-to-back, so physically it’s a good test. But that is something I will try to improve on, getting my pace higher and higher.”To back it up and take wickets in the last two Tests is great. On flat wickets I like to do what the captain says. I’ll bowl bouncers, or whatever. To back it up was fantastic and I’m looking forward to the future.”The quicker I can bowl the better. Definitely something I will focus on, and it’s just trying to get quicker for long periods of time.”Wood was also pleased to have been able to maintain his speeds over the course of back-to-back appearances – albeit with an extra day of rest after the second Test finished in four days. He said that his body was “pretty sore now” but he would be focusing on rest and recovery while the Hundred was on, in preparation for the series against Sri Lanka starting in late August.And while Wood has sharpened his ability to swing the Dukes now that he has hit his mid-30s, he was under no illusions about his primary utility to the team.”I’m mainly in the team to bowl fast and try to make something happen there,” he said. “At times maybe I don’t want to just be pigeonholed as an enforcer, maybe I can bowl a skill [role]. And hopefully in that little period I can show that I can do that. But first and foremost, my role in the team is to bowl fast.”The wickets in England tend not to be as quick but with the Dukes ball I’m trying to move the ball at pace, rather than just being a straight-up fast bowler, actually trying to move it in some sort of way makes it a bit more deadly.”The other thing is that I’ve gone from someone that would maybe bowl one or two quick spells to now consistently keeping my pace up, and that makes another big difference. And I’m really proud that I’ve managed to go back-to-back and managed to keep my speeds up. Looking at the screen and seeing it still coming in at over 90 mile an hour is pleasing for me.”