England pacer Mark Wood has gone on to claim he knew his role will be changed in the IND vs ENG 1st Test. The Three Lions opted for a spin heavy attack with Wood being the only pacer in the team. He claimed that he got annoyed with his reduced ability to bowl, but was happy as England won the Test in Hyderabad.
Wood has fired warning shots at India after winning the first game of the 5-match Test series. Wood went on to reveal that he knew that they were tweaking the techniques while putting the pressure back on India.
“We’re playing differently. It’s not just plodding forward and trying to survive. We’re trying to put the pressure back on India. Their spinners were going at over four an over – that would have never happened in the last series,” Mark Wood told The Belfast Telegraph.
“Going with four spinners and myself I knew my role would be very different to what I was used to. It was a bit odd, a bit weird at times, but spin was doing the damage,” Wood added.
Though England gambled with going forward with 3 spinners, it is highly likely that will be the case in Vizag. Wood is likely to be on the bench. James Anderson and Ollie Robinson are expected to be back to lead the pace attack.
Despite the criticism, Wood is happy that the lone pacer attack worked well. The 4 English spinners spun their magic and was able to break India’s batting order on Day 4 to clinch a sensational 28-run win.
“Very rarely would you ever think you’d bowl just one and then be off but I trust what Stokesy says. I’ll give it everything for one over and when he says ‘rest’ I’m not annoyed; I get it, we’re going to spin now,” Wood concluded.