Mark Wood deserves more than what he got: Ben Stokes

Mark Wood bowled a magnificent spell, that saw him run all over West Indies on Day Three of the third Test at Edgbaston, where he picked up five wickets in 21 balls. Wood eventually finished with figures of 5/40, allowing West Indies to take a slender lead of 81. 

Wood was left frustrated in the second Test at Trent Bridge, where he managed just a couple of wickets and at one point, had to leave the field due to an injury. However, he showed no remorse in this game, as bowled one thunderbolt after another that saw West Indies reduced to a sorry state.

Skipper Ben Stokes was incredibly proud of Wood's performance this game as he believes he finally got his just reward. "The rewards that he got there were later than he deserved. The effort that he always puts in when he puts on an England shirt is remarkable. He’s got a lion’s heart. He blew the game open for us," Stokes said at the post-match presentation. 

"Definitely deserves more than what he got. Wood knows how much he affects the game from the other end, he might not always get the wickets but he knows the bowler at the other end might get them. That spell in the afternoon was phenomenal, looked like he could take a wicket every ball. He’s very important, that hour shows why we need him in the team, the X-factor he brings in with his pace is very important."

Wood, who picked up the Player of the Match award for his seven wickets in the match, said that a chat with James Anderson, who continues to be part of England's backroom staff after his recent retirement, helped him. "Bit of a relief," Wood said after his epic spell.

"Speaking to the management, was a bit down and frustrated [after the previous game]. Jimmy [Anderson] gave me a great chat. Tried to swing the ball and get it in the right areas. First wicket gave me a lot of confidence and went from there. 

"You have to adapt to the conditions, my role in the team is to bowl fast and I was glad that I was able to keep the pace up. Hopefully I can maintain it through the summer. I was a little bit down having not got the outcome I wanted [at Trent Bridge] but he wanted me to work on myself. He was more game plan focused, it’s always great to speak to Jimmy on skill aspects. 

"It’s hard, you have to bowl in the nets by yourself, run in, bowl, pick the ball up and bowl again. It’s boring but these are the results. Everytime you play for England is special. Playing back to back Tests and keeping the pace up is great, the physio has done a lot of work on me."

England completed a 3-0 whitewash with the 10-wicket win at Edgbaston. They will play Sri Lanka at home in August next for a three-match Test series.

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