Former England cricketer Mark Butcher has discussed the potential for Mark Wood to exceed 100 miles per hour in Test cricket. Butcher noted that Wood had been consistently bowling around 90 miles per hour during the recent Test against the West Indies, suggesting that surpassing the 100mph mark is within reach.
In the ongoing Test series against the West Indies, Mark Wood has been bowling with intense pace and aggression. His deliveries have been so fast that they have left West Indies batters struggling and trying to avoid injury. During the second Test, Wood achieved a top speed of 97.1 mph, the fastest recorded delivery in a Test match in England. His aggressive short-pitched bowling made the opposition batters uncomfortable, contributing significantly to England’s dominant win in that match.
With Wood’s current form and pace, he is expected to play a crucial role in the final Test of the series. England’s captain, Ben Stokes, has also expressed confidence that Wood could surpass the 100mph mark. Currently, the record for the fastest delivery in Test cricket belongs to Mitchell Starc, who bowled at 99.6 mph against New Zealand in 2015.
Butcher believes Wood has the capability to break the 100mph barrier, provided certain conditions align in his favor. He emphasized that Wood is in excellent rhythm, which could enable him to achieve this milestone. Speaking to Sky Sports, Butcher elaborated on his expectations for Wood.
“It’s possible, yeah. I mean, you need lots of things in your favour at the time, you know, the right sort of weather, maybe the wind in the right place, him being in fabulous rhythm once again, which you wouldn’t put past him because he was purring last week. His looseners were 90 miles an hour and over. So yeah, of course, it could happen.”
I remember watching it. Shoaib Akhtar break the 100 miles an hour mark – Mark Butcher
Mark Butcher further recalled how Shoaib Akhtar bowled over 100 miles to Nick Knight in the World Cup game, and everyone in England’s dressing room went nuts. Highlighting this he also backed Mark Wood to break the record. He explained:
“I remember watching. Shoaib Akhtar breaks the 100 miles an hour mark. It was the most underwhelming thing I think I’d ever seen. He ran into Nick Knight in the World Cup game, I think in Johannesburg on the high Belt.
“It came up as 100 miles an hour on the board. Everyone went nuts. Nick Knight just calmly played it off his hip for one to square leg. It was just like nothing happened whatsoever, but it can be done.”
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar holds the record for the fastest ball in Cricket. He clocked 161.2 km/h delivery against England in 2003. Shaun Tait also delivered a ball at 100 mph.
