The fastest bowler of ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Mark Wood is ready to Play against India in the semifinal.
Wood’s average speed in T20 cricket is 92 mph, and the quickest ball anyone has ever delivered in T20 WC 2022 was his delivery to Glenn Phillips, which reached 96 mph.
Ahead of the semis Final, the speedster Wood has revealed how West Indies legend Michael Holding helped him to bowl fast.
The lengthening of his run-up, which he did in 2018 after consulting Michael Holding during a Test match at Lord’s, is one of the major adjustments Wood has made since his Test debut in 2015.
During a successful period for the West Indies, Holding claimed 249 Test wickets. He previously highlighted his concern about Wood’s frequent injuries and inability to bowl faster because of his short run-up on Sky Sports commentary.
Wood approached Holding after hearing his remarks. Wood then applied Holding’s recommendations into action with England’s head fast-bowling coach Kevin Shine.
Wood told the Telegraph, “I was a bit stubborn really because I didn’t want to give it up – since that had taken us to that level.”
“But I just wasn’t consistent and I wasn’t doing it enough. And when I changed my run-up it got easier and I got quicker. That’s when it really turned for me. It’s like a rocket. All of a sudden you have this build-up of energy and then everything’s aligned. If you get the timing exactly right, it just flies.”
“Sometimes you know when everything clicks, you can tell by the way you land – the speed of your run-up, the timing of your land and the timing of your head coming forward, your arm coming through. You know as soon as the ball’s left your hand, literally within a millisecond – that’s a fast one.”
The 32-year-old believes he can continue to crank up the pace.
“I think I can bowl consistently quicker and that’s the challenge – keeping those paces up. I feel like maybe my top speed won’t go up much but I can consistently try and bowl above 90mph,” he added.