Mark Wood bouncing again as England quick fires to early wickets in unfamiliar role

Taking the new ball does not exactly come naturally to the 34-year-old, either: this was just the sixth time he had opened the bowling in a Test innings, half of those since the start of this tour. But back in tandem today with James Anderson, Wood was set free; more evidence — to go with Jasprit Bumrah’s success across the opening fortnight — that a two-seam ploy might have been the way to go before now, for all England’s reliance on spin has hardly led them too far astray.