Mark Wood hopes the 95mph storm he whipped up in St Lucia last year will be on the minds of the West Indies batsmen this summer in the same way Mitchell Johnson once dominated English thoughts. Wood’s maiden five-wicket haul in England’s consolation win 16 months ago may not have touched the same heights as Johnson’s 37-wicket Ashes series in 2013-14, but it was a scorching spell and possibly career-changing. Having previously questioned whether, with his fragile body, he could be a match-winner in Test cricket, the 30-year-old Wood suddenly felt he belonged. Just two Tests have come since but nine wickets at the Wanderers in January proved it was no one-off. Next to tick off on the CV is a similar performance on home soil and though competition for places will be high come the first Test on 8 July – not least with fellow quick Jofra Archer fit after an elbow issue – memories of West Indies struggling to cope with Wood’s pace means he must surely be unleashed at some point. “I think it’s natural,” Wood said when asked whether the impact of the St Lucia performance could roll into the forthcoming three-match series. “It’s like Mitchell Johnson in that away tour; before the 2015 Ashes we had a big chat about him. It’s actually quite nice to think they might do that about me, which is a bit weird.“If they’re having those thoughts, it proves that they do rate me as a cricketer and they are concerned about what I could bring. It gives you confidence as a bowler knowing you’ve done well against a team. That’s what I’ll be trying to do again if I’m selected.” Wood is one of 29 England cricketers ensconced at the Ageas Bowl, all of whom have cleared a round of Covid-19 testing for players, support staff, officials and hotel workers by the England and Wales Cricket Board that over the past 20 days has produced 702 negative results out of 702. Archer is due to join the squad on Thursday, subject to an additional test that was required after a member of his household became ill, while West Indies, warming up at Old Trafford, are thus far all clear. The Pakistan squad due to fly to England this Sunday has returned 10 positive results out of 28 players checked. Those who do travel will, like the England and West Indies players now preparing for the first summer series, face a raft of biosecure measures when they arrive, with Wood giving an insight into this new lifestyle at Hampshire’s on-site hotel. “The temperature check [upon arrival] was weird,” he said. “You walk through a tent and they tell you you’re all right. I don’t know what happens if you are not all right. It is a bit like a sci-fi movie. Everybody has masks, you don’t know if they are friendly or not. “It is something we will have to get used to. Meals are strange as well, everyone has their back to you and sits on separate tables. It’s a bit like at school and you do an exam at your individual desk, apart from there’s nobody scribbling on it like I used to. “This morning I had breakfast and looked at the back of Jos Buttler’s head. You have to follow arrows and feet marks everywhere [around the venue]; it’s like a channel one way and a channel the other. “The cleaner can come into the room once a week for a deep clean. If you don’t want that, you can refuse it. The state that my room will be in, I’ll definitely be accepting it. Everything is just extra careful. It’s almost going a little bit over the top but that’s because we’re trying to make sure everybody is safe.” Such lengths to get Test cricket played will begin to look strange with the rest of England opening up and sit in contrast to the recreational game, which remains on hold after Boris Johnson’s remarks that the ball is a “natural vector” of Covid-19. Wood, speaking to promote Yorkshire Tea’s National Cricket Week – a series of online activities from Chance To Shine to keep children learning cricket skills at home – was not impressed by the news, as the ECB tries to mitigate the issue of the ball and still push for a 4 July start date. “It is disappointing to hear that,” he said. “Clubs across the country are desperate for some cricket, just to keep them alive. I know that my home club, Ashington, are itching to get back out there and the junior section that produced me, Steve Harmison and Ben Harmison, we don’t want to lose those kids to other sports. “Safety first is paramount and cricket took its time on the back burner, rightly so. But with pubs and restaurants opening, I don’t see how cricket is so far away from that. Being a non-contact sport, there must be something they can do around the ball. We don’t want to miss out on the next Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Jos Buttler or Jofra Archer.”