Ben Stokes leads England for the first time in the first test against the West Indies. (Twitter / EnglandCricket)
England has resumed international cricket with a breakneck attack in the First Test against the West Indies, but statistics show that their use of extra speed has not been adequate for conditions in Southampton. Had Ben Stokes, going for his Durham teammate Mark Wood over Stuart Broad or Chris Woakes, slower but perhaps more inquisitive, already made his first strategic mistake before the first ball of the game?
Mark Wood’s average speed in this test has been 144.64 kph, or 89.88 mph, the fastest inning performance of an English bowler in a home test, since such data was recorded since 2006. He threw a ball at 152.7 kph on day 3, the fastest ball of his test run.
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However, Wood’s returns in the first innings were sparse. His only wicket on a 1-74 spell was West Indies No. 11, Shannon Gabriel. Jofra Archer, the other rhythm ace in England’s attack, ran out of a fight.
Anderson, who plays just over 80 mph, was the one who played the most. He delivered 11 maids in his 25 overs. The other three sailors from England delivered 10 between them.
This is primarily Jason Holder’s ERA, but the pace has struggled in this match as this @CricViz graphic shows #ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/hBZ69UkSdj
– CricViz analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 10, 2020
As this Cricviz analysis shows, balls over 88 mph were the least productive in the Test. Jason Holder and James Anderson, two bowlers whose average speeds are in the lower 80s have been the most successful.
Speaking from the comment box on Day 3, Nasser Hussain said England has traditionally sought an extra rhythm from fast bowlers: “Duncan Fletcher (England coach during his time), for example, only looked for an additional rhythm in a bowler. ” They may have found the answers to their prayers in Wood, but the answer seems to have come at an inopportune time.
“Obviously you need control,” said James Anderson after the play of the day on Friday. “We saw the West Indies play well. They had a couple of bowlers who offered control at Holder and (Kemar) Roach and that gave the faster boys the freedom to play fast. You need a balance. ”
Jofra Archer has struggled to find movement in this match so far. Only Ben Stokes, who has been operating on a much older ball, has found less swing than him in the game.
Archer might not be aiming to swing the ball, but he typically finds more movement than Wood. #ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/PEGC870Bbo
– CricViz analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 10, 2020
Generating seam movement seems to be the way to go in the first test so far. Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes have been the least bowlers in the game.
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As an analysis showed during Friday’s play, the West Indies players had drawn 1.7 degrees of swing, while England, even with swing king James Anderson in their ranks, was only able to handle 0.8 degrees.
As Hussain mentioned, in English conditions, sounding lines at a smooth rate have often been shown to be more poisonous than the fast rate.
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