AUS vs ENG: Mark Wood Was Too Quick For Australia - Ollie Robinson Lauds Pacer's Heroics At Headingley

England pacer Ollie Robinson lavished rich praise on his teammate Mark Wood for his staggering performance in the third Test of the Ashes 2023 at the Headingley in Leeds. He said that he has never seen a spell like his on the first morning of the game.

The inclusion of Mark Wood in the English side for the third Test of the Ashes 2023 changed the fortunes of the hosts as he played a vital role and helped his side win the game by the margin of 3 wickets and mark their first win of the series.

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Mark Wood proved out to be the difference between the two sides as he bowled a fiery spell and made Australia’s batters look clueless. He bowled the second-fastest spell in England since 2006 and picked a fifer in the first innings that helped England bundle out the opposition for a low total.

Also Read: AUS vs ENG: Michael Neser Released From Australia’s Ashes 2023 Squad

Mark Wood, who picked 2 wickets in the second innings, played a vital role with the bat as well. He scored 24 runs in 8 balls in the first innings and then chipped in with unbeaten 16 runs off 8 balls in the second innings to help his side chase the target.

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Ollie Robinson said that Mark Wood’s spell was the fastest he has seen. He pointed out how Marnus Labuschagne too looked fazed by his pace and it was too quick even for him. Writing in his column for Wisden, he said:

“I’ve never seen a spell like Woody’s on that first morning. I was at mid-off to start with, and first few balls, I thought, “Jeez, that looks pretty quick…”. After the first over I went to fine leg, and I was standing no more than 15 yards behind Johnny, thinking, literally, ‘This is the fastest thing I’ve ever seen’. It was crazy. It was just amazing to watch and be a part of. Though not so amazing for the batters, I’d imagine…

“Against pace like that, you pick up little quirks from batters that you don’t normally get, and as bowlers, I think we pick up on it more. There was one ball that Marnus [Labuschagne] played, and after it he had a sort of wry, awkward smile on his face. And he was trying to give off the persona that everything’s fine, when it’s really not, because someone’s bowling 95 miles per hour! You knew it was too quick for him after that.”

Also Read: AUS vs ENG: Nathan Lyon Heads Home After Being Ruled Out Of Ashes 2023 With Calf Injury

Ashes 2023: Even Usman Khawaja who plays pace well struggled against Mark Wood – Ollie Robinson

Ollie Robinson further highlighted how Usman Khawaja, who is a good player of pace, struggled against the fast bowling of Mark Wood. While calling his spell awkwardly fast and awkwardly uncomfortable for bowlers, he said he has a mad unique energy. He elaborated:

“And even Uzzie [Usman Khawaja], who obviously plays pace really well and has been in such good form, even he struggled with the pace at times. He went from having this quiet persona at the crease to suddenly smiling and joking, trying to give off the feelgood vibes that he was fine. Every batter during that spell was doing the same thing. It was awkwardly fast and awkwardly uncomfortable, and as a batter you’re trying to convey that you’re fine when you’re really not.

Us bowlers were saying that if we’d been batting out there, we might just have kicked our poles over. Woody’s just got this mad, unique energy. There’s no one else like him. You think he’s drunk half the time yet he doesn’t touch a drop. Bear in mind this is a bloke who, 10 minutes before we went out, literally at 10:50am, was on all-fours barking on the changing room floor, going, “There’s a dog in the dressing room. There’s a dog in here, lads…”

The Ashes 2023 currently stands at 2-1 with Australia in the lead. The fourth game of the series will take place in Manchester from the 19th of July.

Also Read: Watch: Mark Wood Goes Berserk Against Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins In Ashes 2023 3rd Test

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