Mark Wood last featured in a Test on India tour. (PTI Photo)
The right-arm quick, who replaced retired pacer James Anderson in the playing XI, bowled the fastest recorded Test over by an England bowler at home, clocking an average speed of 94.40 miles per hour.
Mark Wood wreaked havoc at Trent Bridge with his lightning-fast deliveries in the as hosts squared off against West Indies in the second Test on Friday. The right-arm quick, who replaced retired pacer James Anderson in the playing XI, bowled the fastest recorded Test over by an England bowler at home, clocking an average speed of 94.40 miles per hour.
Wood set the bar high in his first over, beginning the spell with a 93.9 mph (151.1 km/h) delivery to Windies opener Mikyle Louis. The pacer bowled the next ball at 96.1 mph (154.65 km/h) and kept on his onslaught with deliveries at 95.2 mph (152.88 km/h) and 92.2 mph (148.06 km/h). He then delivered a tracer bullet which clocked 96.5 mph (155.30 km/h), before ending the over with another fast delivery at 95.2 mph (153.20 km/h).
Wood seemed unstoppable as he ramped up the heat in his second over with his deliveries clocking 95 mph (152 km/h), 93 mph (149.66 km/h), 95 mph (152 km/h), 96 mph (154.49 km/h), 97.1 mph (156.26 km/h), and 94 mph (151.27 km/h).
Last year, during the third Ashes Test at Headingley last year, the 34-year-old beefed up the tempo when he reached blazing speeds of 91 mph, 93 mph, 95 mph, 93 mph, 94 mph, and 93 mph in an over. In the end, England prevailed by three wickets against arch-rivals Australia.
The 34-year-old is regarded as one of the world’s quickest bowlers across formats. In the Multan Test in 2022, he set the fastest Test delivery speed of 156.6 kmph against Pakistan.
In the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, which England won, Wood bowled the fastest delivery of the tournament, clocking 154.74 km/h against New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips in a Super 12 match. Wood dominated the top 10 fastest deliveries of the World Cup, with six of his balls exceeding 153 km/h.
Wood also set a record for the fastest T20 over in men’s cricket, averaging 149.02 kmph in a four-over spell against Afghanistan during the World Cup. Additionally, he bowled the fastest delivery of the 2019 ODI World Cup, reaching 154 km/h against New Zealand’s Henry Nicholls in the final at Lord’s.
