England’s Gus Atkinson keen to bowl faster despite impressive debut series

Gus Atkinson has challenged himself to bowl even faster for England, despite a remarkable introduction to Test cricket.

Atkinson was a runaway success in his first outings at the highest level of red-ball cricket, being named player of the series after taking 22 West Indian wickets at 16.22.

It was an eye-catching calling card for the Surrey seamer, who regularly attacked the stumps, showcased a dangerous bouncer and got enough sideways movement to bring the outside edge into play.

But most important of all for a side who are looking to rebuild their bowling group with a new emphasis on pace as a weapon, he did it all while being able to touch 90mph.

Yet the 26-year-old, who watched on as team-mate Mark Wood hit the dizzy heights of 97mph at Trent Bridge, is keen to keep pushing the speed gun as far as he can.

“It will be pretty tough to get up to that sort of pace, but I will always be looking to improve my speed,” he said.

“That is something I will try to improve on, getting my pace higher and higher. The quicker I can bowl the better, 100 per cent. It’s definitely something I will focus on, trying to get quicker for long periods of time.

“It’s very hard and (Wood) doing that in Test matches is amazing. In white-ball cricket it might be a bit easier, but you are not going to be able to do it for 20 overs throughout the day, but if there’s periods where you can do it for three or four overs, that is something I’m looking to do.”

Few bowlers have been able to maintain the kind of fierce speeds Wood has normalised over the past five years, ever since an extended run-up unlocked a whole new level for the Durham quick.

After a long, luckless sequence against the West Indies he finally got his rewards in the third innings at Edgbaston as he hoovered up five wickets in 21 deliveries.

The 34-year-old rattled through the tail with abandon and went on to admit an element of empathy with those on the receiving end of his rockets.

“I don’t even want to be facing 70mph bowling! ” he said.

“Looking at the screen and seeing it coming in at over 90 mile an hour is pleasing for me because it means the opposition get to see the screens as well. If I’m a lower order player and I’m facing high speed bowling, I am thinking: I’m not going to last long here.

“So I’m mainly in the team to bowl fast and try to make something happen.”

While several of England’s Test batters are making a swift return to action in The Hundred, those pace bowlers are taking the chance to recharge their batteries.

Atkinson plans to make himself available for Oval Invincibles for “a few games, probably towards the end of the group stage”, while Wood is unattached and happy to sit out before cranking himself back up to speed to face Sri Lanka in three weeks.

“I’m not going to play in it but I am going to bowl in nets, do some running and maybe have one piece of Toblerone to treat myself,” he said.