"When his name gets read out, the whole crowd is up" - Ben Stokes awestruck by Mark Wood's thunderbolts
England captain Ben Stokes has admitted to being awestruck by Mark Wood's pace and how he gets the crowd going with his thunderbolts. While the all-rounder acknowledged that Wood's hard work didn't pay too many rewards in the second Test against the West Indies (WI) at Trent Bridge, he expects it to in the remaining matches of the summer.
The 34-year-old bowled in full tilt in Nottingham, notably clocking a speed of 97.1 mph in an over when he bowled all the deliveries well over 90. However, he managed only one wicket in 20 overs in the first innings and added another to his tally in the second as England won by 241 runs.
Speaking at the press conference on Thursday (July 25) ahead of the third Test against WI, Stokes lavished praised on Wood. He claimed that the whole crowd is fired up when the right-arm speedster gets called out and that his impact cannot be measured solely in terms of wickets. As quoted by BBC Sport, the 33-year-old said:
"The whole game changes. When his name gets read out, the whole crowd is up, then when the speeds are on the big screen, everyone gets going. Woody is always looking up at the screen as well to see what he's clocking. He's got the heart of a lion. He runs in spell after spell, ball after ball.
"Although he didn't get the rewards he wanted last week, he knows he affects the game in more than just wickets. That showed last week. I think someone will pay this summer, either West Indies this game or Sri Lanka."
Despite being injury prone, Wood is in line to play back-to-back Tests as Stokes confirmed an unchanged XI for the third and final Test against the West Indies at Edgbaston, beginning on Friday (July 26).
"We may see a change in the bowling line-up" - Ben Stokes
Despite conceding that Wood's action and speed takes a lot out of him, Stokes asserted that he doesn't want to change the winning combination. However, he hinted at Matthew Potts and Dillon Pennington getting an opportunity against Sri Lanka.
"When you look at the guys we've got playing at the moment, with Woody being the standout because of how he bowls, it's very unlikely we'll get the remaining Tests out of him because of how hard it is on his body.
"Even though we've got a decent break to the next series, fast bowling is very hard, so naturally we may see a change in the bowling line-up. It's not required yet. It's tough to not play, but for Pottsy and Dillon it's great for them to be in the squad."
England's three-match Test series against Sri Lanka begins on August 21.