England’s former captain, Michael Vaughan, reckons that their premier fast bowler, Mark Wood, could be nursing an injury during the opening day of the first of the three-match series against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford in Manchester. He got the indication that probably the management under-bowled the bowler in the first innings.
Micheal Vaughan believes that Ben Stokes and Co. perhaps have wrapped the Durham pacer in the cotton wool with a few of the other fast bowlers ahead of next year’s Ashes trip in Australia.
Wood bowled only eight of 74 overs for the England side in the first innings, where he was smashed for 31 runs, as the former picked the wicket of Kushal Mendis, the number three for the tourists. The home side still was able to destroy Dhananjaya de Silva-led side for just 236 runs.
Michael Vaughan supports England’s decision to manage Mark Wood
The former England batter, Michael Vaughan, feels that the team management has been looking towards the bigger picture, where they also looked after another injury-prone premier fast bowler- Jofra Archer- during the Hundred, who looked pretty good playing the whole competition in around four weeks.
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“Have they under-bowled Mark Wood today – possibly, but I am not bothered about it now because there is a bigger picture about Wood in terms of next year and what they are trying, and bring.” The 49-year-old expressed during a BBC Test Match Special discussion. “When you think Jofra, he has just been playing in The Hundred, looked pretty good. You can see what England are trying to do.”
The veteran batter is quite satisfied with the decision from their regular red-ball captain, Ben Stokes, and head coach, Brendon McCullum, to manage their premier pacers and rotate them depending on the requirement, keeping an eye on the upcoming Ashes.
Mark Wood, despite making his debut nearly a decade ago in the longest format of the game, has featured in 36 Tests picking up 117 wickets at an average of just over 30, with a strike rate of over 54. He has celebrated the five-wicket haul five times, having a best of 6/37 in an innings.
“They have got a clear plan of making sure that when they get Down Under in a year and a bit’s time, they want to have these quick bowlers that they can rotate – Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Olly Stone.” Michael Vaughan remarked during the conversation. “Let’s be honest, for them to compete in Australia and win, they have to get them all fit. So you have to wrap them in a little bit of cotton wool before then. I think they are doing the right thing.”
The veteran also felt that Ollie Pope, the captain for the series replacing injured Stokes, decided to weaken their batting line-up as Chris Woakes came out to bat at number seven, which was quite given as they couldn’t take the risk of an extra batter in a three-pronged seam attack including Wood as one of them.
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The former Sri Lankan batter, Russell Arnold, has admitted the same statement as Michael Vaughan, displaying the buzz that the veteran pacer creates in the game whenever he comes into the attack.
“Just love watching him play. Whenever he comes in to bowl, there is a buzz about it, and suddenly things seem to happen quicker – batsmen hopping around, the best place to watch Mark Wood is from the square of the wicket.” Arnold responded.
After two days of play in the game, the hosts are 259/6 in their first innings, with a lead of 23 runs.