Mark Wood Delivers one of the fastest Test spells recorded, Dominates day with fifer on Ashes debut
With the second-fastest spell in England’s Test matches, Mark Wood had a sensational debut in the Ashes series. The England bowler’s first four-over burst resulted in just one wicket for two runs, but his speed stats were even more astonishing, with Wood aka England’s 90 mph weapon hitting his first ball at 91 mph and peaking at 96 mph during a stint in which he never fell below 90.
His first over at Headingley was recorded as being the fastest ever by England’s official Twitter account, a record that astonishingly only stood until his second. With a high speed of 95 mph in his first over, the 33-year-old’s lightning delivery against Marnus Labuschagne in his second over had fans in amazement.
After 8.3 overs, the large screen displayed a peak speed of 96.5 mph, confirming the remarkable pace with an audible gasp from the enthused crowd.
Jofra Archer had the fastest average speed for the 2019 series, which was 93 mph, but Wood beat him with an average speed of slightly over 93 mph.
Watch: Mark Wood takes a fifer on England return against Australia in Ashes
On his first day back with the England squad during the third Ashes Test at Headingley on Thursday, Mark Wood ripped the Australian batting order up.
Usman Khawaja’s leg stump was uprooted by Wood to start the day, and he continued his rampage by sending back Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Todd Murphy to keep Australia to 263.
On the opening day of the third Ashes test at Headingley on Thursday, Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh took advantage of England’s shoddy catching to smash a savage century and alter the course of the match.
When Marsh, filling in for Chris Woakes due to an injury and making his first appearance in over four years, nipped Woakes to slip with just 12 to his name, the home team had a commanding lead and was well on its way to victory.
Joe Root’s sloppy fielding gave Australia a much-needed chance
Australia might have been in trouble on 98-5 if Joe Root had taken the opportunity immediately after lunch, but Marsh made him pay in full as he led them to 240-4 before tea.
Following his reprieve, Marsh batted with unrestrained aggression, smashing 17 fours and four sixes as he amassed 118 runs at precisely one run per ball.
In the penultimate over before the break, Woakes got Marsh when an inside edge looped to Zak Crawley via the thigh pad, putting an end to England’s suffering. But there was already a lot of harm.
Despite Wood’s explosive burst of breakneck speed to excite the Leeds crowd and Stuart Broad’s two strikes in the first session, England’s hands finally failed them down.
In addition to Root saving Marsh, wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow missed two opportunities. After finding himself stumped at Lord’s, Bairstow returned to the forefront and made two plays.
The first one was a challenging take off Steve Smith, but the second one from Travis Head, who had nine and went on to score 39 not out, should have been a straightforward catch.
Mark Wood’s impact Australia ended up going from 240/4 to 254/9
Mitchell Marsh, playing his first Test of the series, and Travis Head have since put up a counter-attacking partnership that has gone past the 50-run mark. It meant that England are without a wicket almost halfway through the second session. Marsh soon raced to his fourth Test half century and never really looked back. Eventually, the all-rounder ended up scoring a century in just 102 balls as he and Head almost completely negated the advantage England gained in the first session.
The partnership finally ended on 155 off 168 with Marsh falling on 118 off as many balls at the stroke of Tea. England came back strong though, with Wood taking his tally to four wickets in the final session and Australia ended up going from 240/4 to 254/9. Wood finished the job, dismissing Australia for 263 and completing his five-wicket haul.
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