Mark Wood: Spinning pitches no longer a ‘foregone conclusion’ after epic win

It was only as England came out to defend the target of 231 they had set for India in the first Test at Hyderabad that Ben Stokes informed Mark Wood that he would open the bowling, as he had done it in the first rounds. The trap ? He would only do it once.

Wood wasn't really surprised. He was the only seamer in the attack and bowled only two overs in his first stint on the first day. This was part of a larger plan concocted before the series to use seamers as a point of difference. Wood's extra pace and ability to reverse the movement of the ball would come in bursts, with the spinners doing most of the work.

This was vindicated as England's four spinners took 18 wickets in the match, with Tom Hartley starring with a match-winning 7 for 62. Wood admits to micro-spells – his eight second innings overs were bowled in games of one, three, three. and one – it took a little getting used to.

“When we were on the pitch he probably said one or two,” Wood said following Stokes’ instructions. “I mean, I thought I wouldn't even be able to open the second innings bowling. But it was like 'one over, that's it'.

“So it was a little weird. Especially when the captain says you're going to throw one with the new ball and it was a little bit like, okay, I'm going to practice with the new ball.

“Very rarely would you think you'd throw one away and then walk away. But weirdly, I trust what he says. An over? Okay, okay, I'll give it my all. And then he said 'rest' and I'm not bothered. I understand, we're going to shoot now. So it's just a little different.”

The Durham quick went wicketless, finishing with match figures of 0 for 62 from 25 overs. In contrast, Indian star Jasprit Bumrah took six wickets, including 4 for 41 in the second innings which featured a hellish spell of reverse swing.

Nonetheless, Wood enjoyed the solitary role, although he missed the company of another seamer. And overall, he considered it a success considering the big picture.

“Bumrah didn’t do me any favors by bowling like a genius,” Wood said. “It was hard !

“It was a bit strange, a bit weird at times. Usually at certain points in the match I thought 'I could play here', but the rotation does damage.

“I told Jimmy [Anderson] that I found it more strange to have no one to talk to. I was kind of working on it as I went along. Usually, if Jimmy casts a spell, he can tell me “that worked well” or “so what?” You talk to the captain and you don't really know how it's going to go.

“It's like, yeah, that ball reversed, let's try that, so that was probably the only thing that was different. I'm disappointed I didn't get any wickets but I wasn't really excited, because the team played amazing. One of the great games I have been a part of.

England travel to Vizag on Tuesday 1-0 up ahead of the second Test which begins on Friday. Their final tour in 2021 also saw them take the lead before India changed tactics and conditions, relying heavily on their senior spinners to eventually triumph 3-1.

This time, however, they might take a different path. England effectively canceled out Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, especially in their second innings stand of 420 scored at over four runs. Wood anticipates a reaction from the hosts and believes the team is prepared for any eventuality.

“It’s possible, yes,” Wood said when asked if India could turn things around. “I don't know what they will produce. India has the potential to produce any wicket here. I have played in World Cup matches and IPL matches where there are flat, seamed pitches , turning wickets. They have the potential to do whatever wicket they want.

“But now we've given them something to think about. It's not a foregone conclusion that we're going to get here and they're going to take us out. Ollie Pope played a fantastic shot, they're going to now we've got to go and analyze, like we would do it if things weren't going well, and analyze how they're going to try to combat that.

“We won a game, that's quite an achievement, but I don't think we need to get too far ahead of ourselves. Don't build on this now and say 'ah, we're going to win'. “It’s the same thing again. Approach the next game with the same belief, the same process and hopefully get the same result. “