Ben Stokes tips Mark Wood to become the first to break the 100mph barrier in Test cricket after his rapid bowling display in win over West Indies
- Wood recorded the highest average speed by a bowler in a Test match in Great Britain
- The fastest speed the 34-year-old has ever reached is 97.7mph, achieved during an Ashes Test in 2021
Ben Stokes expects Mark Wood to win the Ashes Pace Race and become the first fast bowler to officially break the 100-mile-per-hour barrier in Test cricket.
England captain Stokes watched his Durham team-mate hit a ball of 97.1mph against the West Indies in Nottingham last week, recording the fastest average speed ever recorded by a bowler in a Test match on British soil.
Wood, 34, hit a personal best of 97.7mph during the 2021-22 Melbourne Ashes Test, while Australia’s Mitchell Starc is the closest to a triple-digit speed since records began, having hit 99.6mph in the winter of 2015-16.
But Stokes backed Wood’s case ahead of Friday’s final match of the series against the Windies at Edgbaston, saying: “Who knows? He’s got what it takes. He’s been close a few times. Maybe one day.
“He seems to be getting closer and closer. But I’m happy with what he’s doing now, to be honest. To be able to keep up that pace is really phenomenal.
Mark Wood produced a sensational display of fast bowling in the victory over the West Indians
But how does the pace bowler prepare his body to perform at the top level?
Ben Stokes has bet his star fast bowler will become the first to clock a speed of 100mph in a Test match
‘Look at his average speed every time he plays a Test match – it’s always over 90mph. That says a lot about his fitness. It’s all well and good to try and bowl over 90 once, but every time he bowls for England he’s over 90mph and that’s a great thing to have as captain.
“I’d rather have him on my team than have to fight him as an opponent with my helmet and protection.”
One victim of Wood’s cruelty is Kevin Sinclair, who is ruled out of the match against Birmingham with a broken left forearm after being struck on the wristband of his batting glove in the second innings of the 241-run defeat at Trent Bridge.
That means that while England field an unchanged XI, West Indies recall the slow left-hander Gudakesh Motie. They have also put uncapped seamer Akeem Jordan on standby with Shamar Joseph, Australia’s killer at the Gabba earlier this year, at fever pitch.