AUS vs ENG: Mark Wood Has Rattled Australian Batters - Dinesh Karthik, Michael Atherton Praise The Pacer

India National Cricket Team wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik and former England National Cricket Team captain Michael Atherton have praised Mark Wood for his impact on the ongoing Ashes 2023 series.

Playing in his first match of the Ashes 2023 at Headingley in Leeds, Mark Wood inflicted a lot of damage on the Australia batting unit. He dismissed 5 batters in the first innings and followed it up with 2 wickets in the second innings.

Also Read: AUS vs ENG: Michael Vaughan Feels David Warner Will Be Retained For Ashes Finale

Not just with his express pace, Mark Wood also troubled the visitors with his batting performance, The 33-year-old scored 24 runs at a strike rate of 300 in the first innings and 16 runs at a strike rate of 200 during the successful run chase in the second innings.

Mark Wood has continued his brilliant performance in the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. In the first innings, he picked a huge wicket of Steve Smith while in the second innings, he was at his aggressive best. Wood destroyed the Australian top-order with his bouncers and picked crucial wickets of Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, and Travis Head, leaving the visitors reeling at 113/4 at stumps on Day 3.

Also read: ENG vs AUS: “They Whacked Us Left, Right And Over The Top” – Ian Healy Takes A Dig At Pat Cummins’ Captaincy On Day 2 In Manchester

Nobody has impacted on this series like Mark Wood – Michael Atherton, Dinesh Karthik Hail The Pacer

Speaking on Sky Sports, Atherton lauded Wood for turning around the mood of the series on his own. He said:

“Nobody has impacted on this series like Mark Wood, certainly from an England perspective. He won’t help that game at Headingley – player of the match – turned that game and turned the mood of the series for England.”

Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik said that Mark Wood’s addition to England’s playing XI brought the much-needed express pace to their bowling department, which has proved to be a massive difference.

“You speak about swing and seam to the conditions based on the majority of the time. But pace is something that you control and that’s what he’s brought to this English team. Proper pace and he’s really rattled all the batters. I think we have heard in the media before quite a few times. It’s going to be the difference because of the pace,” Karthik said.

England are in a dominant position in the fourth Test and their victory would level the series 2-2. However, the weather forecast for the last two days is not promising as the rain will likely play spoilsport. The Kennington Oval in London is set to host the Ashes finale this year. The match will be played from July 27 to 31.

Also Read: ENG vs AUS: “He Will Resign From The Captaincy After The Ashes Series” – Darren Berry Takes A Dig At Pat Cummins