For genuinely fast bowlers, the 90mph mark is rarely far from their thoughts, but Mark Wood has put a new twist on it as he begins an Ashes year refreshed after a four-month injury lay-off.
While most of his rapid rivals hurtle to the crease with the desire to hit the speedgun milestone, Wood is determined never to dip under it during the remainder of what has been a stop-start career with England.
‘Everybody sees 90mph as the target, but I don’t want to drop below that now,’ says a man who continues to top the world’s speed charts despite turning 35 this week.
‘My average pace is going up year on year, my control last summer was OK as well, so I just want to try to keep that high speed as much as I can, not at 90 but above it.
‘That’s the challenge. Two to three years ago, I didn’t think I could get any quicker, but I’m giving it everything I’ve got these days. You can probably see that from the number of times I fall over.’
Indeed, during a scintillating spectacle against West Indies at Trent Bridge last July, Wood raised the bar for sustained pace by a bowler across a Test match in this country, averaging 91.2mph per delivery in the 241-run win. This was dramatically higher than his career mean of 87.4 and shattered the previous record on British soil of 90.59 by Australian Brett Lee in the iconic 2005 Ashes.
Mark Wood has revealed his determination to not drop below 90mph despite his injury issues
The England fast bowler has had a four-month lay-off but is targeting the winter’s Ashes
He has been an important cog of Ben Stokes’ side and has been working hard to get fit again
Later that month, he blitzed the Windies’ batting with five second-innings wickets at Edgbaston, claiming his fourth man-of-the-match award in 37 Tests in the process.
Cruelly, though, he was cut down in his prime immediately after the August win over Sri Lanka in Manchester when what was deemed a routine check on an historical elbow issue highlighted a stress reaction in the joint.
So, while Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse were enhancing their reputations against the Sri Lankans, Pakistan and New Zealand, Wood was working harder than ever on his fitness in a bid to join them in England’s Ashes attack next winter.
Unable to use his right arm for weeks and expressly forbidden to pick up his two children so as not to hinder the healing process, he focused on cardio work, beating his personal best times for 5km, 3km and 2km distances.
Wood tells Mail Sport: ‘We’ve got so many good bowlers now, so many young lads coming through that when it’s freezing cold in the garage at nine o’clock at night, I’m wondering: “Who else is training at this time?”
‘I trick my mind into thinking that getting on the treadmill for extra running or picking up the weights is the thing that is going to make the difference for me – the extra one per cent that will get me back in the team.’
Given his long-term ankle problems and chronic knee trouble of recent years, Wood also had to carry out weekly exercises set by England physio Steve Griffin in his local leisure centre in Ashington.
‘I call it the Griff session. It was a bit strange walking into a public gym and hopping and skipping and jumping through these low level, no weights exercises of single leg work, counter balancing and different directional movements.
Gus Atkinson (left) and Brydon Carse (right) have led England’s pace attack in Wood’s absence
Wood has been selected for England’s white-ball series in India and for the Champions Trophy
‘It doesn’t sound much but it fires up muscles in a way that can be brutal on the body. Yet I was very conscious of the fact that it looked like I was barely doing anything and there were quite a few eyes on us. People must have been thinking: “What on earth is this bloke doing?”
‘I was also doing all gym work with one arm, so I was walking everywhere with my left shoulder pointing forward – “Look, I’m like Arnold Schwarzenegger.” On the other side was a stick.’
However, following regular scans to check the rehabilitation remained on course, Wood was given a latest injection of ostinol and cortisone in November.
‘My grandma used to have this little sewing mouse that she’d stick needles in. She must have had about 50. But this latest one of mine must have taken me past her total. Every time I have a jab I think about that little mouse,’ he laughs.
Wood has been selected for both of England’s upcoming white-ball series in India and for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February and March.
If he comes through all that unscathed, he will increase his workloads with a home Test series versus India and another crack at Australia Down Under in mind.
Wood feels more robust since lengthening his run-up in his early 30s and adds: ‘I managed four games in Australia last time we were there. I’ve managed two or three Tests on the bounce, which has been very unlike me over my whole career, so all these things give me optimism for what is ahead.
‘It’s certainly not the case that I’ve set the world alight, so far. I look at some of the bowlers around the world and think “why can’t I be like that?” It’s the people that change games and series that I want to emulate.’
If he can maintain the velocity of his deliveries for the year, he might just do that in the biggest series of them all.
