by The final decision was made by England when they chose the pace of Mark Wood over the spin of Shoaib Bashir as they selected their XI for the third Test. But three stumps on the first day, when he had three wickets and a fine, if he had gone straight out false, they could reasonably ask where in the world they would be without him.
Wood went wicketless in the first Test in Hyderabad. In that game came a series of first rounds for Wood. This was his first Test in India, first in the unusual role of lone seamer and, as a specialist on the old ball, the first time he was bowling an opening over of an innings. In the second innings, he took the new ball, but was beaten out after only one more by the ever-inventive captain Ben Stokes. That was a first, too.
Afterwards, Wood was delighted with the win but was not down with his own performance, drawing unfavorable comparisons with the genius of Jasprit Bumrah (who took six wickets). Overall, his assessment of his role in the game was “strange”. He added that it was “strange” not to have another fast bowler to discuss tactics and conditions with.
“Whenever Woody plays for England, he gives absolutely everything to the team and he certainly did that last week,” Stokes said. “When he doesn’t feel like he’s contributing, he feels like he’s letting people down. But that is clearly not the case.”
Listening to Stokes talking about Wood’s role before the third Test, it was clear that the captain was canny enough to recognize that his old mate is such a creature. So he changed his handling of Wood, just as he curbed his attacking instincts when setting pitches for Tom Hartley since he took the first innings in hiding in Hyderabad.
Wood would no longer be the lone seamer. Instead, he was paired with Jimmy Anderson, who would provide the controlled passes, and Wood attack. There would have been a case for selecting another controlled seamer, such as Ollie Robinson, alongside Anderson, but as ever England chose the attacking option, and they seem to have a better balance because of it.
Stokes used the words “high pace” and “point of difference” when discussing Wood’s use, making it clear he would not be shedding a valuable commodity on a pitch unlikely to help. As a result, he would be given “more rest”. In short, Wood would not have to fulfill every role asked of seals in the subcontinent, just the ones that suited him.
It really worked, on a fine day of Test cricket for the Durham players. Stokes brought up his 100th Test, and Paul Collingwood presented the cap. In New Zealand, legendary batsman David Bedingham made his Test debut for South Africa. And Wood bowls with trademark speed and graft.
First, it became the 25th new ball partner of Anderson’s Test career. After a slightly too inclined start, he pulled back his length, found extra bounce and forced Yashasvi Jaiswal to slip. After that, Wood got to shape a ball into Shubman Gill. The next one, on the fourth line of a similar stump, held and took the edge. Even as they made centuries in Vizag, Jasiwal and Gill looked troubled at Anderson, performing around 10mph slower than Wood. This time, they had the right pace to contend with and due to the cool conditions of the morning which resulted in moisture in the field, nip, too.
Wood’s opening spell lasted six miles, in which he topped 93mph, and he made Rohit Sharma uncomfortable, forcing a short ball into his wicket. Stokes mixed up his pitches, at one point posting two gullies barely a meter apart, and then opted for the short-ball option.
After the evening became England’s first wicketless session of the series and as Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja’s partnership ticked towards 200, Stokes turned back to Wood in search of a wicket. They telegraphed the bouncer plan to both men and, although it leaked a few runs, he eventually took the wicket of Sharma, pulling straight to midwicket, where Stokes took perhaps the simplest catch of his career. 100-Test feed.
For each of his three wickets, Wood went away in maniacal celebration, Hyderabad’s frustration flooding out. Assistant coach Paul Collingwood, however, felt that Wood thoroughly enjoyed the run.
“On flat pitches, you need something, whether it’s a leg-spinner who can turn both ways, or a lot of pace,” Collingwood said. “You have to think outside the box on how to take wickets, be it the fielding or the plans. I thought we did that well today.”
This followed a trend. During his career, he has achieved important hauls in Abu Dhabi, St Lucia, South Africa, Australia, Pakistan and now India, so that his record is unusual for an English pacer: his average is almost 10 lower away from home than at home. . On slow pitches like this, England need Wood, and they need to use him properly.
