This series has been marked by significant batting failures for the West Indies. They suffered seven wickets for just 54 runs on day one at Lord’s, followed by five for 43 in their second innings there, eight for 52 in their second innings at Trent Bridge, and five for 39 and five for 58 in the first innings at Edgbaston. This time, their last six wickets fell for a mere 29 runs, with the last five contributing only 19 and the last three dismissed for just four runs within a single over – a situation they could hardly be faulted for.
Ahead of this match, discussions revolved around Mark Wood delivering fast bowling at 100mph; ultimately, he didn’t quite reach that speed, but with the ball moving and the bowler brimming with confidence, spurred on by some extraordinary fuel at lunch, it hardly made a difference.
“I’d much prefer to have him on my team rather than facing him with my helmet and pads on as an opponent,” Ben Stokes remarked on Thursday. For an hour on Sunday, he was a joy to watch, yet a nightmare to confront. If Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, wasn’t too preoccupied with a crisis meeting set with the white-ball head coach, Matthew Mott, he likely took satisfaction in witnessing the match unfold.
The day underscored the decision to award Wood a three-year central contract last October, just months before his 34th birthday, a choice that now feels like a masterstroke for the future.
At the conclusion of the morning session, the West Indies were at 151 for five and needed just 24 more runs. Two balls into the afternoon, Wood delivered a swinging ball to Kavem Hodge, prompting a loud appeal but no review. Two balls later, a yorker aimed at Joshua Da Silva incited a softer appeal and an unsuccessful review. Wood was just getting warmed up. Still searching for his first wicket, he left the field a short time later, ball in hand, to a hearty standing ovation after securing his fifth Test five-wicket haul.
Throughout most of the two matches he played in this series, Wood has been remarkably unfortunate, even finishing the series fifth on the wicket-taking list. But here, the cricketing gods had no chance to intervene, most likely lurking in fear. After lunch, he bowled six overs for a mere nine runs and claimed five wickets, numbers that thoroughly reflected his remarkable performance. His delivery to dismiss Alzarri Joseph stood out as magnificently too good for a player with a Test batting average of just 12, as it swung irresistibly towards middle stump.
All of this overshadowed England’s other bowlers, who seemed to be cloaked in total darkness. During this time, Gus Atkinson’s three overs went largely unnoticed as Wood wreaked havoc at the other end – sometimes even spectators require a moment to process. This was not Atkinson’s day, and despite having seven wickets at their disposal, it took England some time to hand the ball to their standout bowler of the series. However, it didn’t take long before he rewarded their faith.
Atkinson has experienced an outstanding breakout series. He has taken more wickets in these three matches than he had in any entire previous first-class season, significantly surpassing the 14 he captured in five games for Surrey in this year’s County Championship (he was controversially directed by the England and Wales Cricket Board to skip their season opener for workload management, despite it being almost four months since his last first-team appearance in any format, a decision that now seems wiser than it did at the time).
During this third day at Edgbaston, Atkinson spent most of the morning idle in the outfield while Shoaib Bashir bowled 10 overs, Wood five, Ben Stokes seven, and Chris Woakes two. Bashir was struck into the stands a couple of times by Mikyle Louis but displayed impressive discipline and clever variations in pace while the ball began to swing and every bowler desired a turn. Atkinson, not for the first time in his career, found himself waiting for his opportunity.
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At last, his moment arrived. After a series of dot balls, Hodge scored a single that brought up his half-century off 56 balls (having made 49 off his first 50, he was eventually out scoring only an additional six off 26, highlighting not a drop in his fluency but the relentlessly hostile atmosphere created by Wood, aided eventually by Atkinson). Atkinson managed to swing the final ball of his first over into Jason Holder, hitting him on the knee roll. Holder opted for a review – given his height at 6ft 7in, when the ball rises to hit him near the knee, it seldom poses a threat to the stumps – and was unfortunately for him, not reprieved.
This marked Atkinson’s 22nd and final wicket of a West Indian player – a feat only achieved by three England players in the history of the sport during their debut series.
While it was indeed Wood’s day, Atkinson’s influence should not be overlooked, nor should his contribution to the promising outlook surrounding a bowling line-up that just over a fortnight ago endured the loss of their greatest player.
