"You have got to have Wood in the next 2 Tests as well" - Brad Hogg advises England to gamble on the speedster for the rest of the Ashes

Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg feels that as long as Mark Wood's skillset is used judiciously, he can play in the remaining two Ashes Tests as well. The English speedster's inclusion in the playing XI proved to be a game-changer as his seven wickets and lower-order batting helped the hosts attain a crucial three-wicket win in the third Test.

Wood bowled one of the most scathing spells in recent memory, with speeds up to 96.5 mph that troubled the Australian batters. He picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings and his short, sharp spells allowed other bowlers to capitalise on as well.

Hogg spoke about how Wood operated in the third Test at Headingley, Leeds, and his importance to the England bowling unit.

"I think Stokes utilized Wood very wisely, but the thing about Wood that I liked is when the ball is new, he pitches it up and gets it to swing, and is very accurate. But also, his short bowling is right on the money as well. For me, you have got to have Wood in the next two Tests as well," Hogg said on his YouTube channel.

Hogg further spoke about Mark Wood's workload, which is complicated because he is an all-format player.

"Wickets falling left, right, and center, just aggressive cricket by both teams under pressure, loving it. I thought bringing in Wood was a great move, they probably missed him in the first two matches. I am comparing Wood to the past fast bowlers that bowled in Tests and a little bit in ODIs. Mark Wood is playing across all three formats, so he has to be careful, but England are monitoring well," he added.

Wood has had his fair share of injuries in the past. His previous appearance in whites came during the tour of Pakistan in December 2022, following which he also played a series in Bangladesh and a handful of matches in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) as well.

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"I like the aggressiveness by England's batting" - Brad Hogg

England's playing style has been a huge talking point in the Ashes so far, and while they have come close to winning, they had to wait until the third Test to finally get over the line. The Ben Stokes-led side have embraced an aggressive playing style which has also brought them good results.

Brad Hogg stated that going all out was the right approach employed by England in the fourth innings.

"I like the aggressiveness of England's batting. They went after the bowling, they did not look at the target and say that there are two days left, so we can take our time. You have got to keep scoring because there is always a ball that has got your number on it," he said.

Branding England as early favorites for the third cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC), Hogg concluded:

"England, with this style of cricket, I think are going to start winning a lot more Test matches and there will be a big chance of winning this WTC cycle over the next two years."

England were hurt by initial results in the previous WTC cycle, which included a 4-0 drubbing by Australia Down Under and a 1-0 loss to the West Indies away from home as well.