Sonny Baker willing to accept injuries in quest for raw speed

Sonny Baker’s need for speed means he is at peace with the downsides of being an express fast bowler, as long as he empties bars like Mark Wood and Jofra Archer.

Baker hit a personal best 91.5mph in pre-season and gave England’s selectors a nudge in Hampshire’s County Championship win over Yorkshire with an astonishing triple-wicket maiden last weekend.

He is eager to find out how fast he can go, even if it means more spells on the treatment table, with the 23-year-old already overcoming three stress fractures in his lower back in his fledgling career.

“People come out of the bar to watch Mark Wood and Jofra Archer,” Baker told the Press Association.

“Batters smacking it and bowlers bowling fast is the lifeblood of the game, it’s exciting to watch.

“Some people might try to counter it by saying a 90mph cut ball is still a cut ball. But if you’ve got the ball in the same place doing the same thing and it’s faster, it’s still harder to play.

“It’s a big asset of mine and something I want to keep exploring. Injuries are very much part and parcel of that and that’s OK. It’s a trade-off I’m willing to make.”

Baker, a fastidious learner who keeps a notebook filled with tips from fellow pacemen, has sought out advice over the winter in how to get faster from Wood, who one of the speediest operators out there.

“He almost answered what I was expecting him to answer,” Baker said. “That was a ‘oh, I do know what I’m talking about’.

“One thing he said was ‘there’s no magic bullet, I can’t give you some exercise that’s going to make you bowl 90mph-plus and stay injury-free all the time, it’s staying on top of everything at once’.”

Archer also passed on some helpful wisdom after expensive figures on ODI and T20 international debuts last September for Baker, a matter of days after starring for Manchester Originals in The Hundred.

“Jof was good from a perspective point of view in that he just said ‘one in 10 games is going to go like that, that’s just the way it is,” Baker said. “It was a well-timed message from Jof.

“Just because I had one off-day and it happened to be my debut, it doesn’t mean that I’m behind the pace.

“You are good enough to be there because otherwise you wouldn’t be picked. You bowl 90mph and swing it both ways, you can be there, it’s OK to feel like you do belong in that environment.

“Last summer was almost like having three massive steaks served up to me at once. You think ‘how good is this?’ but you don’t have time to enjoy all of them because you’ve got them all in one go.”

Baker is on a one-year England central contract and, while he has only played nine first-class matches, he has been touted for a Test call-up, with seemingly at least one fast bowling spot up for grabs.

Brydon Carse’s injury to his bowling hand might open another spot but while Baker’s long-term goal is the 2027 Ashes, his immediate focus is on Hampshire, who face Somerset this week at the Utilita Bowl.

“Ashes cricket is absolutely the pinnacle and that’s where every English player wants to be,” he added. “I’m very, very hungry to try and do everything I can to try and earn that.

“Right now I just want to play and get some games in. I want to try to learn some things and body being well, getting some good robustness under my belt.”