Most speed demons have a scary aura about them, but this guy is good wholesome fun
Alagappan Muthu01-Apr-20230:26
Ponting: ‘If Wood stays fit, you will see him bowl some really fast spells’
Mark Wood doesn’t like being here.He has bowled just one ball but he is already going Looney Tunes on the pitch. Giving it a glare that is only missing the cartoon knives flying out of his eyes.It’s the landing area. It’s slippery. It’s not able to support his weight. So on comes a bit of sawdust.Related
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Bodies made of flesh and bone aren’t meant to take the kind of strain fast bowlers put them to. And yet they have been doing it for hundreds of years. Because the payoff is immortality.Fred Spofforth played his last match in the 1800s. He is still called The Demon. There was another guy back in the 1950s who played just 17 Tests. Every time people say his name, even now, they add the word ‘Typhoon’ to it.Fast bowlers, man. They bridge the possible with the impossible. They connect dreams to reality. They stir emotion, create history, and revel in infamy. They are the bad boys that your mother warned you about but you can never, ever stay away from.Except Wood refuses to further that stereotype. In fact, for the most part, he is an utter comedian. More often than not, he struggles to even stay on his feet after releasing the ball, falling splat on the ground in a way that wouldn’t look out of place in a Charlie Chaplin sketch. Last year, while under medication following surgery, he took part in a conversation where he was in equal parts adorable child, incorrigible teenager and total brat.”Is my shoulder meant to be sore?””Yeah.””That’s weird, that. I’ve had elbow surgery but my shoulder’s achin’.””Yeah, it’s from the position you were lying in.””Pff, whatever. I’ll still bowl fast.”
Here’s more of Mark Wood under anaesthetic for you
I’ll still bowl fast… pic.twitter.com/YFGiWPQN0w
— England's Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) March 28, 2022