Mark Wood Offers Hope on a Difficult Day for England's Bowlers

If England felt they had the better of things after the opening day of the series opener against New Zealand, the tourists definitely dominated Day 2 at Lord’s.

The Black Caps reached stumps on Friday on 303 for two, leaving them trailing their opponents by just 86 runs in the first of two Tests between the nations.

With Kane Williamson set to resume just eight short of a century, and with eight wickets still in hand, New Zealand are on course to claim a substantial first-innings lead.

England can rightly point to the fact that they had to bat on Thursday morning, when the conditions were at their toughest. They failed to pass the early examination, leaving them 30 for four after just 74 deliveries.

Since then, only eight more wickets have fallen in the game at a cost of 662 runs.

The surface has lost the greenish tinge it had on the first morning, and the Lord's outfield gives batsmen full value for their shots. Conditions became ideal for scoring runs, as England’s bowlers found out to their cost.

Perhaps things may have been different for the hosts if a couple of key moments had gone their way.

Martin Guptill had 24 to his name when he saw an outside edge fly off his bat toward first slip, where England captain Alastair Cook took a sharp catch.

For a few seconds, England had an initial breakthrough. It was not just going to be their first of the innings, it was also set to be a maiden Test scalp for paceman Mark Wood. He was understandably delighted, though, his joy quickly evaporated when television replays showed he had overstepped the front line.

The third umpire called a no-ball, giving Guptill another life.

He cashed in to a point, going on to make 70 before falling to a delivery from Stuart Broad that was legal.

Like Guptill, Tom Latham received a reprieve. The left-handed opener was dropped in the slips by Ian Bell shortly after lunch, Ben Stokes the unfortunate bowler to see the chance go down.

The pair went on to punish England for their carelessness, putting on 148 before both well-set batsmen fell in the space of three deliveries.

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While Stokes could feel frustrated at Bell’s failure to cling on, his Durham team-mate Wood only had himself to blame for finishing the day without a wicket next to his name on the scoreboard.

His opening spell was impressive, and the wicket of Guptill would have been a real boost to his confidence.

Instead, however, he learnt a harsh lesson: At the highest level, it is all about the small margins.

Had he managed to get any part of his left boot to land behind the line, Guptill would have been on his way; meaning Williamson would have walked out just prior to lunch to face a ball still only 13 overs old.

By the time New Zealand's No. 3 did reach the middle, England were stuck on the back foot.

Wood finished the day with figures of none for 60. He had been a breath of fresh air to start with, as former England international Chris Tremlett pointed out on Twitter:

The 25-year-old from Ashington, the same town as former Durham and England bowler Steve Harmison, had gathered plenty of attention on social media for his rather unusual run-up.

Sliding his right foot back as a trigger movement, Wood suddenly sets off on a short approach. He seems to arrive at the crease in a rush, though it's his pace through the air that gives opposing players the hurry-up.

Jonathan Liew compared him to Simon Jones, a Welshman who had a similarly economical run-up but was also seriously quick, in the Telegraph:

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Like Jones, Wood has an unusually short run-up. He lurches backwards before he begins, then motors in off just eight strides. (By way of comparison, one of Wood’s idols Michael Holding used to take almost three times as many, and on smaller grounds would begin his run-up somewhere near the car park.)  Around six strides in, he springs off his toes just a little, like a high-jumper in his final approach.  At the moment of delivery, his body is front-on to the batsman, looking inside his leading arm. Then – whoosh – the right arm comes whipping over like a catapult.

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Alec Stewart also saw the resemblance to Jones, who was part of England’s famous Ashes-winning squad in 2005 before injuries cut short his international career:

Wood could well be involved against Australia later this summer.

He is still a work in progress (it should not be overlooked that he has only played in 24 first-class fixtures to date), but he did offer something different to a bowling unit still over-reliant on James Anderson as well as the occasional hot spell from Stuart Broad.

While he has a sketchy health record, as Richard Gibson pointed out in a profile of the player for the Daily Mail, he has the raw ingredients required to prosper in the Test arena.

The touring Australians won’t have seen too much of him, and used in the right way, he could be the kind of strike weapon England can use to their advantage in their bid to regain the miniature urn.

First, though, they must find a way of bowling themselves back into contention against New Zealand. Wood can help them do that, so long as he understands now that there is a thin line between success and failure.