Mark Wood says England have a plan to stop Steve Smith

Mark Wood says England have a plan to stop Steve Smith
2 HOURS AGO JULY 25, 2015 7:00PM

WHEN a bloke has just pounded you for 273 runs off his own bat in a single Test match, chances are you’re doing something wrong.
But that’s not the way England see it, with paceman Mark Wood saying the Poms will stick to their guns when it comes to nullifying Steve Smith’s impact with willow in hand.

The England quicks bowled wide outside off stump to Smith for much of his double-century in the last Ashes Test at Lord’s, trying to induce a careless waft in the hopes of finding his outside edge. However, Smith showed tremendous patience in leaving many of those deliveries unless they were full enough to drive or short enough to cut, forcing the bowlers to bowl at him so he could score on his favoured leg side.

Wood says his fellow leather-slingers will stick to the same plan of wearing down the 26-year-old’s patience by continuing to bowl a fifth stump line when the two sides meet again in the third Test at Edgbaston starting on Wednesday.
“We’ll be out to try everything again, maybe it’s that fourth, fifth stump line again,” said Wood. “You’ve got to believe in your method and believe what you’re doing is right.

“Maybe we’ll continue with that.
“He’s one of the best players in the world at the moment, you just say, ‘Well done, Steve Smith’, it was a fantastic knock.”

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The New South Welshman plundered 215 in the first innings at Lord’s, his maiden double-ton, before scoring a quickfire 58 off just 48 deliveries in the second dig when the Aussies were chasing quick runs. Even when England did bowl wide of off stump, Smith still found a way to work the ball to the on-side, sometimes by walking across and hitting it between or behind his legs.
While still dedicated to their original plan when Smith is starting his innings, 25-year-old Wood admitted that if his teammates were again unsuccessful in dismissing the Australian cheaply, they would have to resort to different tactics. That’s assuming they have any other tactics for him, given Wood wasn’t able to elaborate on what they would be.

“If things don’t go as planned early, maybe we’ve got to go to Plan B and Plan C a little bit earlier than last time because we don’t want him scoring 230 again.”
England’s third seamer bowled 38 overs for just the solitary scalp in the last Test, which Australia won by 405 runs inside four days, but says he expects a rejuvenated home outfit to bounce back in the third clash of this five-match series.
“The atmosphere will be a little bit different at Edgbaston with our fans, so I can’t wait to get there and really express ourselves,” said Wood.

“I think that’s the key, if we really express ourselves like we have done against New Zealand, then I’m sure we’ll come up with the right result, because we have great attacking players, a great overall squad.
“So let’s just give it a good go and come back hard at Australia like they did at us.”