Mark Wood’s time playing for England has ended, and he took with him one of the most entertaining careers the national side has seen in recent years. He was the fastest England bowler on record by most metrics, and throughout his career he delivered a number of thrilling spells, each recounted here in his own words.
The Saint Lucia Breakthrough
Wood’s average with the ball sat at 41.73 over his first 12 Tests. After receiving guidance from West Indies great Michael Holding, he adopted a longer run-up, which he debuted for the first time in the third Test against West Indies in Saint Lucia in 2019.
He took 5-41 in the first innings, and the spell left him feeling weightless. “That was the fastest,” he said. “I could be biased because I thought it was a breakthrough moment in my career but when I was watching the ball carry off the nicks, they felt a long way in the slips.”
The sense of forward motion and unbridled vigor was what he conveyed. He called it a feeling of momentum and loose energy. “You feel weightless, like you’re never tired and are just picking up speed,” he said. “It feels like you have all of this momentum and loose energy to release. You feel a surge through your body and then a whip out of your fingers.”
The day was a turning point. “That day I didn’t have to try,” he said. “Root could have put the field anywhere and I wouldn’t have cared. I was so up in my action. I can remember my feet landing and the feeling of the balls on my fingers – the seam ripping up my fingers.”
Wood split his career into two parts. “I essentially had two different careers,” he said. “The first one in and out of the team with good moments but struggling with ankle injuries and form. I felt I had to constantly push myself with that stop-start run-up to get the most out of myself.”
The change was immediate. “As soon as I went off my longer run I had much more momentum, flow and freedom and the ability to bowl consistently quicker for longer,” he said. “When I lengthened my run-up, if it was below 90mph I was annoyed.”
Jubilant in Jo’burg
The highest mark of Wood’s career came in the fourth Test against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2020, where he posted a score of 9-100. The pitch was quick and bouncy, and his average of 89.1mph contributed to England’s 191-run victory.
The match was tense. “I faced [South Africa bowler] Anrich Nortje there and when he bowled a bouncer I could hear it go past me. I was honestly so scared but something clicked in me that I would bowl fast,” he said.
One dismissal stood apart from the rest: that of Rassie van der Dussen. “I got Rassie van der Dussen for 98 caught from round the wicket. We double-bluffed him. That was a great wicket because he was giving us a bit of verbals back,” he remarked.
Wood confirmed that Faf du Plessis was also involved. “Faf du Plessis wasn’t happy with something and Van der Dussen got involved,” He added: “The way he commands a presence at the crease winds people up and he has a little bit of verbals here and there.”
The team’s reaction was blunt. “A few of the lads were desperate for me to stick one up him,” Wood said. “We set up this bouncer plan, I pitched it up and he hit it straight to cover.”
Earning Langer’s Respect in Hobart
Wood’s best innings figures came at the end of the 2021-22 Ashes defeat when he took 6-37 in the second innings of the final Test in Hobart.
“It is disappointing because you are losing but you still have the pride in your own performance. You have to have pride in your performance,” he said.
The spell was personal. “I wanted to do it for Spoons [coach Chris Silverwood],” he said. “He was under a lot of pressure but was really good for me and backed me up – Jon Lewis the bowling coach as well.” Wood played four out of the five Tests and was proud of that.
“I was so tired at the end of that spell but came out with my best figures of the tour,” he said. The Australian public noticed. “Even on the boundary line the Australia fans were saying ‘Woody, we want to see you on’,” he recalled.
The respect was official. “Afterwards I was in the lift with Justin Langer and he put his hand up and pulled me in and said ‘respect’,” Wood said. “That was a really nice moment. We always want respect from our people but to have it from the Australians was nice.”
The Headingley Spell
The most memorable moment of Wood’s career came during the first innings of the third Ashes Test at Headingley in 2023, when he averaged 90.4mph and famously dismissed Australia opener Usman Khawaja. That performance is likely to be what he is best remembered for.
“I was absolutely ready to go,” he said. “The day before I was bowling to a mitt and the strength coach had to swap because it was hurting his hand so much.”
The moment was special. “I can still hear the commentary and feel the ball,” he said. “It was a special moment because my parents were here as well. It was the first time they saw me get five wickets.”
Wood spent much of his career in the bouncer role. “I thought at times I was better than that and it hurt my stats,” he said. “That day I got to pitch it up and it was the swing that did it.”
The BBC had the Khawaja dismissal on social media. “I watched it so many times,” Wood said. “I just loved the noise it made. I wish I could bottle that up.”
Key Facts Box
- Fastest England bowler on record by most metrics
- Best Test match figures: 9-100 against South Africa in Johannesburg, 2020
- Best Test innings figures: 6-37 against Australia in Hobart, 2021-22 Ashes
- Recorded pace for the Headingley spell: 90.4mph
- First major breakthrough: 5-41 in Saint Lucia, third Test against West Indies, 2019
Order of the Spells
- Saint Lucia — the breakthrough moment in the third Test against West Indies in 2019
- Johannesburg — the 9-100 statement against South Africa in 2020
- Hobart — the 6-37 defiance in the 2021-22 Ashes
- Headingley — the 5-34 spell in the 2023 Ashes
Wood ended his England career on Tuesday, and he did so with a record of pace and injury that defined him. It was one of the most entertaining spells in recent English cricket. The words he used himself sum up what it felt like: the sensation of being weightless, the rush through the body, the whip out of the fingers, the momentum.
The lads wanted him to stick one up him. He did.
Source material: “'The lads wanted me to stick one up him' – Wood relives fastest spells,” the BBC.
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