Wood hails Bumrah-led Indian pace attack

Over the years, the cricketing calendar has become increasingly stretched. In order to get maximum action, cricketing boards have no option but to pack the matches tightly. Take the ongoing India-England series where there has been very little turnover time between the last three Tests.

It’s a tribute to 39-year-old Anderson’s supreme fitness that he has played four games on the bounce but there’s no doubt the punishing schedule does take a heavy toll on the pacers — short and long term. Teams are forced to rotate their quicks, only way to stop them from getting burned out. England’s Mark Wood, the quickest in the home team, acknowledged the tight scheduling does impact the performances of fellow quicks.

“It’s very difficult. You want the performance to be really high. (High chances) you get injured. You want your fast bowlers to be at their optimum. This series has been really exciting because the bowlers have bowled really well and the batsmen have had to work hard for their runs. Having the tight schedule is obviously difficult for bowlers in terms of injury, in terms of keeping that level up and the pace up,” Wood said in a virtual interaction arranged by Sony.

“It is tough but it is a huge series, it’s one which both England and India are desperate to win. We have to just try our best to deal with it. That’s why we have a group of fast bowlers, that’s why India have chopped and changed. Umesh (Yadav) has come in, he has done really well. They have plenty of quality bowlers and in reserve ready to play. England, I know, are missing a few in Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes. If we had the depth, hopefully when people are needed to rest or rotate, we’ve got plenty of back up.”

Wood also the hailed the show of the India pacers, especially Jasprit Bumrah, for dismantling England with a brilliant exhibition of reverse swing bowling on the final day of the fourth Oval Test. “I thought the way India bowled reverse swing was top draw, especially Bumrah in particular. That spell was outstanding. As a fellow fast bowler to watch that, you’ve got to give him huge respect and say that 'you’ve bowled brilliantly’. Tried picking up little things on how they’ve gone about doing that.

“The wicket wasn’t particularly abrasive, Jadeja bowling in the rough for 30 overs could have helped. When we bowled, we may have missed a little trick there in trying to get the ball to reverse. We tried to get the ball moving but we couldn’t. But the way India got the ball reversing, we have to think about it this game. It’s been hot here the last couple of days, the pitch could be abrasive, especially the wickets around the square. We are not used to hot weather but it could be an option this game as well.”

Fifth Test, Live on Sony Six from Sept 10-14 (3:30 pm)