England 'missed the trick' by not using reverse swing at the Oval, admits Mark Wood

England pacer Mark Wood believes that India used the reverse swing to their advantage at the Oval and this was something that England pacers missed out on during the course of play in fourth Test. Jasprit Bumrah, especially, was quite a revelation with the ball reversing, and his action making it all the more difficult for batters to read it. His 100th wicket delivery—the one to Ollie Pope which darted back in from good length, outside off—was one such example. Pope played the wrong line, not expecting it to come back like it did and completely lost track of the ball, getting cleaned up. “So the way India bowled reverse swing was top-class. Obviously, Bumrah, in particular… that spell was outstanding. And as a fellow fast bowler to watch you’ve got to, you know, give him huge respect,” he said. Wood, speaking to a group of Indian journalists on Wednesday, pointed out that Jadeja bowling into that rough, and then some good work done on the shine did help the pacers to get it reverse. [caption id=“attachment_9893731” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Mark Wood in action during the second Test. AP[/caption] “Jadeja bowling into the rough, for 30 overs, of course, would have got the ball into condition to reverse whereas we may be missed a trick that we didn’t, you know, get the ball to try and get in reverse swing condition. We sort of tried to keep it in a normal swing and when we weren’t getting much movement, maybe that’s something we could have thought of earlier,” said Wood. The 31-year-old pacer said that reverse swing is something that might be in play at Manchester also and the team has already discussed it in aftermath of the disappointing result at The Oval. Knowing the heat and the abrasive condition of the pitch in Manchester, reverse swing could still be an option at Old Trafford. “That’s something we’ve discussed as a group about the ball. It’s something that we’re definitely going to have to think about for this game and it’s been hot weather again here the last couple of days. So the pitch could potentially be abrasive especially the wicket ends around the square and things like that. So yeah, we’re not used to hot weather, but it certainly could be an option this game as well.” Wood also hinted that there would be swing on offer at Old Trafford and the abrasive surface will bring spin into play. For the same reason, said Wood, England may look to explore more spin options, and this is where Jack Leach comes into play. Wood feels he has a strong chance of making it to the XI. “I think he’s (Leach) got a great chance. It’s a place that you know, like I mentioned before can spin. He did well in India. So he’s going now with confidence knowing you can get these great players out. He is someone you know, that always gives 100 percent every time he plays. And you know, it’s been frustrating… the fact that Stokes hasn’t been around because, you know, if Stokes plays, it makes the balance of our team easier to get a spinner around.” Watch the 5th Test of India tour of England LIVE from 3.30 pm IST on SONY SIX & SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) channels from 10th to 14th September 2021.