Impressed by the effect England fast-bowler Mark Wood had on the Ashes in his only Test appearance at Leeds, ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting compared the tearaway quick to two of yesterday’s Aussie greats.

Mark Wood

Licensed to bowl at full speed – even at the cost of leaking runs – Wood put on a rousing display of fast bowling for his side at Headingley as England topped an exciting three-wicket win and stayed alive in the race for the Ashes.

Wood scored a five-wicket hit in the first innings to justify England’s decision to bowl on the throw won and later grabbed two more scalps in a pulsating contest to post impressive match numbers of 7/100 in a performance as ” to achieve Player of the Match.

But it was Wood’s ability to reach speeds of around 150km/h that caught Ponting’s attention and gave the former Australia captain a chance to compare him to two of his former team-mates.

Ricky Ponting’s Comparison

Ponting lavished praise on Wood when he spoke to presenter Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review, hailing the fiery right-back as an “absolute hitting weapon”, much like Australian greats Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee.

“(Wood) is a bit like him (Johnson) and I think a bit like Brett Lee in his prime, too,” Ponting said.

“Bowling on the first change, bowling fast, intimidating batsmen, getting a bit of exercise when it was there. He’s just an absolute hit weapon.”

Ponting also added that England need to use him in this way too, getting him to upset new batters on the sidelines and bowling him in short, sharp streaks.

He recognized that fitness and bowling at a similar pace for back-to-back Tests would be Wood’s and England’s biggest challenge.

“I think the biggest challenge is getting him through the next few games,” Ponting said.

“I know he said after Headingley that I think he got through three straight Test matches in Australia in the last Ashes series and did well.”

“The challenge for him will be to keep his pace at around 90mph because they’re like these guys you know he’s not overly tall, he’s quite slippery and when they’re not at top speed In terms of pace, they are the absolute champions and can be quite easy to master.

“They don’t have a steep take off, they slide onto the racquet and don’t have much movement but if he can keep his pace at the absolute top like he was able to do at Leeds then he becomes really dangerous for the Aussies, that is safe.”

Mark Wood First Appearance In This Ashes

Wood made his first appearance of the series in the third Test and lived up to expectations with a stunning spell that allowed England to knock out Australia by 263 in the first innings at Headingley.

That proved crucial as the hosts could not quite match the points tally but almost wiped out the lead Australia had hoped for.

“I think the difference was clear to see at Headingley,” Ponting said of Wood’s impact.

“I mean someone who can run in and bowl at that pace but also move with the ball. His stitching and the way he releases the ball is outstanding for someone who runs in and bowls as fast as he does.

“Look at the delivery that (Usman) Khawaja accomplished and just swung back down the finish line at 90 mph.

“When you have someone like that, you just have to play, if he’s physically fit and capable, you just have to play against him until he eventually runs out of strength.

“The impact he had on the game was absolutely top notch and he and (Chris) Woakes were the difference I think.”

England’s Speed Attack

Discussing the balance of England’s speedy attack in the final Test, Ponting said he expected the hosts to keep Josh Tongue in the eleven but acknowledged the role Woakes played in the winning side.

“I thought they would stay with Tongue and bring Wood,” shared the Australian.

“But I think bringing Woakes and Wood into the team was a very good decision because obviously Woakes is adding to their punching power and the conditions that they were probably expecting at Headingley suited Woakes.

“They had more bite on their bowling attack because Wood was there. Some of the things he saw bowling were express meals.

“That’s as fast as it gets, at 96 or 97 mph. And it looked like he had unsettled some of Australia’s frontrunners.

“So now they’re going to want to push him through for the next couple of games. It’s great for him and England to have a long break ahead of Manchester because they need him back for the rest of the series.”