‘He’s got the heart of a lion’ – Ben Stokes hails ‘phenomenal’ Mark Wood after match-winning show at Edgbaston

Mark wood. (Source – Twitter/X)

England clean swept West Indies in the recently concluded three-match Test series to establish their dominance over the visitors and end a memorable series. The third and final Test was held at Edgbaston in Birmingham from July 26-28.

With the clash ending on Day 3, England skipper Ben Stokes could not help but heap praise on ace pacer Mark Wood. The 34-year-old was named Player of the Match for his exceptional spell across the two innings at Edgbaston.

Wood bowled 16 overs in the first innings, where he conceded 52 runs and took two wickets. He followed it up with bowling 14 in the second, where he conceded 40 runs and took a sensational fifer to help his side register a quick win.

“The rewards that he [Wood] got I think was later than he actually deserved to get them. The effort that he always puts in when he wears his England shirt is just phenomenal. He’s got the heart of a lion and that little sort of 45 minutes or an hour period when he had the ball is exactly what you want as a captain,” Stokes said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

“Fast, extremely skilful, and he really blew the game open there for us… he was just phenomenal. It felt like he was going to take a wicket every ball. Obviously, when the balls reverse swinging at 93mph, it’s definitely going to be a lot harder. He’s very, very important. The skill that he possesses, the X factor he has, every team wants one of those and he showed why it’s so important today,” he added.

I was pretty down on myself: Mark Wood

Receiving the Player of the Match award, Mark Wood revealed how he was not happy with his performance at the end of the first session. However, James Anderson, who is now the bowling mentor for England for the rest of the summer, helped him see things more clearly.

“Speaking to the management at lunchtime, I was pretty down on myself and frustrated, but Jimmy [Anderson] gave me a great chat, telling me to focus on the skill side of things and moving the ball, rather than the outcome, and I really feel like that is what I tried to do,” Wood said.