England quick Mark Wood said he has no complaints about his limited role in their thrilling win over India in the first Test in Hyderabad despite bowling just eight overs in the second innings.
Captain Ben Stokes opted to go with four spinners, including part-timer Joe Root, with Wood being the sole seamer in the starting line-up.
“When we were at the ground, he (Stokes) said probably one or two (overs),” Wood told ESPNcricinfo. “I mean, I thought I may not even open the bowling second innings. But it was like, ‘one over; that’s it’. Very rarely would you think you’d bowl one over and then be off. But weirdly, I trust what he says. One over? Right, okay, I’ll give it everything for this over.
“And then he said ‘rest’ and I’m not annoyed. Like, I get it, we’re going to spin now. So it’s just a bit different.”
India quick Jasprit Bumrah picked up six wickets in the Test. Wood went wicket-less after bowling 25 overs in the match. “Bumrah didn’t do me any favours by bowling like a genius,” Wood said. “I’m disappointed that I didn’t get any wickets but not really fussed, because the team played amazing.”