Posted by Before the English domestic season recommenced, we picked out the four quick bowlers we felt were most likely to represent ‘the next generation’ following the retirement of Stuart Broad. (We didn’t at that point know that James Anderson was also on his way out.) Precisely none of these bowlers have played for England since. So where does that leave us?
To quickly recap, the four quick bowlers we identified were Matt Fisher, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Potts and Josh Tongue. All four are in their mid-20s and had been handed Test caps in the last couple of years. It seemed safe to assume one of them might fill the void.
But no.
Not yet, at least.
Gus Atkinson
England instead liked the look of Gus Atkinson and so picked him for the first Test of summer. Other than the high-fiving, his debut was almost flawless. His second Test, however, was not much more than okay – at least in terms of wickets.
It’s hard to draw too many conclusions. What we do know is that Atkinson is quicker than most. He typically bowls at that speed that is on the cusp of ‘fast’ without quite qualifying – Andrew Flintoff pace, basically. Two weeks into his Test career, he is also yet to suffer a recurrence of a stress fracture, which is very promising.
Chris Woakes
“Chris Woakes is Mr Dependable,” according to Ben Stokes, on the basis that, “he generally always delivers.”
That is such a beautifully qualified compliment. (Very “60% of the time, it works every time.”)
If there were a low octane superhero called Mr Dependable, we hope that would be his catchphrase: “Mr Dependable is here! I generally always deliver!”
Woakes took a while to get going in the second Test, but finished the first innings with figures of 4-84 and then took 2-28 in the second.
That effort means his home bowling average (from 30 Tests) is now 30 runs lower than his away bowling average (from 20 Tests) – 21.87 versus 51.88.
Where does that leave us? England have stopped picking Woakes for overseas Tests and we can’t see that much would sway them on that.
It feels a little like he has taken on the “extension of the coaching team” role in home games now that Jimmy’s been shunted into the coaching team proper.
Mark Wood
To paraphrase Kevin Keegan, England fast bowlers aren’t born these days until they’re in their mid-30s. England’s fastest bowler just keeps getting faster and faster.
Where will it end? Wood’s recent exploits feel a little like playing Out Run where you’d typically accelerate and acclerate, faster and faster, until you hit something and it all came to a very sudden end.
The third Test
England have now won the series and there’s been little point shooting for World Test Championship points for quite some time now. Is there a chance they might start resting quick bowlers after one whole Test without James Anderson? Do the players above therefore constitute the first-choice attack? How can we know?
If it comes to that, Matt Potts and Dillon Pennington are the other two bowlers in the squad.
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I was at days 1-3 and can confirm that Mark Wood did indeed bowl very fast, drawing cheers as the speeds kept going up, but boos when eventually he bowled at a mere 95mph again. Other than the occasional high-80s delivery from Gus, no-one else got a speed reading on the big screens. A few other noteworthy points not quite befitting a match report:
– Day 1 saw us making multiple trips up and down the eight or so flights of stairs to the top of the Radcliffe West, prior to realising there was a bar and toilet on the same level. Useful insider info for any future trips to the Bridge. A great stand with superb views, other than occasionally masking a fielder at long on/off, leading to huge cheers from our area when we thought Pope had reached 100, only for #80 to appear out of nowhere to limit to a single.
– Day 2 was unbearably hot (comparable to the MCG on boxing day a few years back) in the PKF Smith Cooper stand, due to being sheltered from the breeze we’d enjoyed on Day 1 and the back of the stand somehow acting like a massive greenhouse. We also enjoyed Mark Wood’s almost inaudible dog whistles to Dillon Pennington to bring drinks, which he could somehow hear from about treble the distance. 190 were taken ill that day due to the heat and/or excessive refreshment, but with only 10 wheelchairs available, first aid staff had to prioritise ruthlessly, with less severe cases sent on their way with long blue plastic bags for vomit.
– Day 3: a pied wagtail was briefly on the outfield during the West Indies’ morning collapse; clearly a foretelling of the frustrating tail-wagging last-wicket partnership that was about to follow. Three required medical attention after being hit by falling roof tiles from the brewery. I can be seen briefly but prominently in the BBC highlights in my ill-fitting, counterfeit Duckett Hat, celebrating as Brook reaches his 50.
Good to read references to wildlife such as the Pied Wagtail, but sad to read that three were injured.