Wood and Woakes stoke the fire in Ben’s men, keep Ashes flame burning Premium

England: Wood, Woakes revive Ashes hopes. After losing first two Tests, Ben Stokes & Brendon McCullum tweak line-up, bringing in Wood & Woakes. Changes work like a dream, home side win thriller to keep series alive. Wood’s raw pace & enthusiasm lift side, Woakes breaks Aussie partnerships. Fourth Test at Old Trafford a chance for Aussies to clinch, England to keep record intact.

Three Tests, three humdingers. The 2023 chapter of the Ashes is turning into one of the all-time classics.

After losing the first two Tests, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum tweaked the English line-up for the Headingley game, bringing in fast bowlers Mark Wood and Chris Woakes and giving off-spinner Moeen Ali another opportunity. The changes worked like a dream as the home side won a thriller to keep the series alive.

The first two games escaped England’s grasp by narrow margins and what the home team lacked was the impetus to latch on to crucial moments to drive the side to victory and the introduction of Wood and Woakes gave just that.

What Wood brings to the table is raw pace and plenty of enthusiasm, the kind that lifts a side. That’s precisely what he did at Leeds.

‘Go back a yard, Jonny’, said former England captain and commentator Nasser Hussain to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow as the Western Terrace crowd cheered Wood at the end of his run-up, ready to bowl what would be yet another thunderous spell of proper fast bowling.

The pressure was building as Wood bowled dot ball after dot ball and the first run he conceded only came in the penultimate ball of his fourth over. The tension eventually gave in, just like Usman Khawaja’s leg-stump after Wood bowled a 152 kmph delivery.

The player-of-the-match’s effort of five for 34 was the reason why Australia crumbled from 240 for four to 263 all out in the first innings. The fast bowler also made his mark in contributing to his team’s famed ‘Bazball’ tactic with a quickfire 24 off eight balls in the first innings alongside captain Stokes, who himself scored a valuable 80.