England's Mark Wood celebrates with Ben Stokes after taking the wicket of Australia's Usman Khawaja at Leeds on Thursday, July 6, 2023. Reuters
England's Mark Wood celebrates with Ben Stokes after taking the wicket of Australia's Usman Khawaja at Leeds on Thursday, July 6, 2023. Reuters
England's Mark Wood celebrates with Ben Stokes after taking the wicket of Australia's Usman Khawaja at Leeds on Thursday, July 6, 2023. Reuters
England's Mark Wood celebrates with Ben Stokes after taking the wicket of Australia's Usman Khawaja at Leeds on Thursday, July 6, 2023. Reuters

Mark Wood rattles Australia with second-fastest Test spell in England


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Fast bowler Mark Wood made a memorable return to the England team as he bowled one of the fastest opening spells in Test cricket in recent times on Thursday.

Wood was one of three changes to the England team for the third Ashes Test in Headingley, adding firepower to the bowling line-up with the team facing a 2-0 series deficit.

England captain Ben Stokes bowled first on a green Leeds wicket and Wood did not waste any time in making his presence felt.

Coming into the attack in the seventh over, Wood hit the 90mph mark straight away and reached a top speed of 96.5mph (155.3kph) in his second over.

Wood's first three overs were all bowled to Marnus Labuschagne and they were all maidens. But he struck a soon as Usman Khawaja came on strike, flattening the left-hander's leg-stump with a delivery recorded at 94.6mph.

His opening spell read 4-3-2-1. It was also the second fastest spell in Test cricket recorded in England since 2006, when data was first collected.

Wood averaged 92.9mph in his spell, which was just below his own best effort in 2021 at Lord's where he averaged 93.4mph.

England missed the raw pace of Wood in the first Test when Pat Cummins and tailender Nathan Lyon put together a half-century stand in the fourth innings to help chase down 281 with just two wickets remaining.

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers

1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.

Farage on Muslim Brotherhood

Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.

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Updated: July 06, 2023, 12:14 PM