NEWSEngland fast bowler Gus Atkinson said he wants to bowl even quicker despite an impressive debut Test series. The 26-year-old was one of the stars of England's 3-0 rout of the West Indies, with the Surrey paceman named player of the series after taking 22 wickets at an average of just 16.22.
Significantly, while displaying the classic skills of line and length, as well as deploying a useful bouncer, Atkinson challenged an admittedly largely inexperienced West Indies batting line-up by bowling at around 90 mph (145 kph). Yet he could only watch as England teammate Mark Wood topped speeds of 97 mph during a 241-run win in the second Test at Trent Bridge.
"It will be pretty tough to get up to that sort of pace, but I will always be looking to improve my speed," said Atkinson.
"That is something I will try to improve on, getting my pace higher and higher. The quicker I can bowl the better, 100 percent. It's definitely something I will focus on, trying to get quicker for long periods of time."
He added, "It's very hard, and [Wood] doing that in Test matches is amazing. In white-ball cricket it might be a bit easier, but you are not going to be able to do it for 20 overs throughout the day, but if there's periods where you can do it for three or four overs, that is something I'm looking to do."
Make something happen
Durham express quick Wood's career has been blighted by injuries, but the 34-year-old has looked a different bowler since opting for an extended run-up several seasons ago. But it appeared all his hard work against the West Indies might not be rewarded until a thrilling spell of 5-9 in six overs took England to the brink of a 10-wicket win inside three days in the third Test at Edgbaston on Sunday.
Wood was particularly impressive in polishing off the tail in Birmingham, with the bowler — himself a lower-order batsman — well aware of what it is like to be on the receiving end of blistering deliveries. "I don't even want to be facing 70mph bowling!," he said.
"Looking at the screen and seeing it coming in at over 90 miles an hour is pleasing for me because it means the opposition get to see the screens as well. If I'm a lower-order player and I'm facing high-speed bowling, I am thinking: I'm not going to last long here.
"So I'm mainly in the team to bowl fast and try to make something happen."
There are now three weeks until England's second Test series of the current home season, another three-match contest against Sri Lanka gets underway with the gap filled by the domestic Hundred white-ball tournament. While Atkinson plans to make himself available for Oval Invincibles for "a few games, probably towards the end of the group stage", Wood is happy to recharge his batteries instead.
"I'm not going to play in it, but I am going to bowl in the nets, do some running and maybe have one piece of Toblerone to treat myself," he said.
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