Wood's raw speed lifts England in ODIs

Paceman Mark Wood is providing England with some long-overdue speed in their one-day international series against Australia.

Wood

Mark Wood, right, added some much-needed pace to England's bowling attack. (AAP)

After spending much of the summer dodging bouncers and fending away fiendishly quick deliveries, England are finally giving Australia a taste of their own medicine.

And opener Jason Roy says it's something the visitors are relishing after claiming a five-wicket victory in Sunday's one-day international series-opener at the MCG.

Roy's brilliant 180 - the highest ODI score by an England batsman - was deservedly the centre of attention after Eoin Morgan's side took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

But the express pace of Mark Wood is bound to have been a sight for sore English eyes in the wake of their 4-0 Ashes defeat.

England's inability to match the raw speed of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood proved to be a defining issue during the Test series.

Joe Root will likely wonder what might have been after watching Wood take just seven balls to send down the second-fastest England delivery of the summer at 149.3km/h.

The 28-year-old earlier took less than an over to account for David Warner (2) with a barrage of short-pitched deliveries, the last of which flew off his top edge to Root at gully.

Wood was less effective in later spells, finishing with 1-49, but there was still plenty to like for England.

"A bit of their own medicine was quite nice," Roy quipped.

"Obviously the boys have copped it a bit over the last month or so. To see Woody coming in and doing that is a huge positive for us and he's a massive asset, I think."

While about half of the ODI team played no part in the Ashes, Roy said the victory in Melbourne had provided an obvious lift in morale among members of the Test squad.

"We knew the boys were going to be a bit down and it was our task to come in and light up the mood, bring a bit more positivity and get the boys going really well," Roy said.

"I think we've started doing that and there's a lot more smiles going on right now."


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world