'Bit like Brett Lee in his prime': Ponting lauds world cricket's 'absolute strike weapon'

Making his first appearance in the Ashes 2023 series, Mark Wood ripped apart the Australian batting lineup with a sensational fifer in the first innings. He pulled off a stirring display of fast bowling by clocking deliveries over 150 kmph ultimately leading England to claim a dominating three-wicket win to register their first win of the series. Wood concluded the Headingley Test with match figures of 7/100 and earned the Player of the Match award.

3 Things You Need To Know

• England haven’t won the prestigious Ashes series since 2015
• Ahead of the 4th Test of Ashes 2023, Australia lead the series by 2-1
• The fourth Ashes Test begins at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground on July 19

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Ashes 2023: Ricky Ponting compares Mark Wood to Australian pace legends 

Speaking on the latest edition of The ICC Review, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting lavished praises on English paceman Mark Wood. Ponting referred to Wood’s ability to constantly speed of around 150 kmph and compared him to two Australia greats Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee. “(Wood) is a bit like him (Johnson) and a bit like Brett Lee in his prime I reckon as well. Bowling first change, bowling quickly, intimidating batsmen, getting a little bit of movement when it was there. He is just an absolute strike weapon,” said Ponting as per ICC.

"They're like those guys that you know he's not overly tall'

The ICC Hall of Famer further explained his views, saying England would have to use him in such a manner that he can make the most damage by bowling in short and sharp spells. The 48-year-old also suggested that England’s biggest challenge would be to keep Wood fit for back-to-back Tests. Here’s what Ponting felt about Wood retaining his pace in the remainder of the Ashes.

The challenge for him is going to be if he keeps his pace at that sort of mid-90 miles an hour because they're like those guys that you know he's not overly tall, he's quite skiddy and when they're not at their absolute top pace-wise they can be quite easy to face. They don't get steep bounce, they skid onto the bat and they don't have a lot of movement, but if he can keep his pace up at the absolute top like it was at Leeds then he's going to be really dangerous for the Aussies that's for sure.

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The fourth Test of the England vs Australia, Ashes 2023 series will begin at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester from July 19 onwards.