Atkinson touched 90mph in the series but Wood was consistently above that mark and bowled a scintillating spell of reverse-swing to finish the series in a hurry while Crawley was in hospital on Sunday.

“It will be pretty tough to get up to that sort of pace, but I will always be looking to improve my pace,” Atkinson said. “It’s my first time playing three games back to back, so physically it’s been a good test. But that is something I will try to improve on, getting my pace higher and higher.

“The quicker I can bowl the better. Definitely something I will focus on, and it’s just trying to get quicker for long periods of time.”

Atkinson revealed how he changed his run-up – straightening and lengthening it by three metres – after returning from the tour of India in March, where he was an unused reserve. Atkinson pulled out of the IPL to focus on earning a Test debut and it has paid off handsomely.

“I changed my run up,” he explained. “That was something I felt I needed to do. I didn’t feel consistent at the crease, so improving my run-up has helped a lot. That is the reason why I pulled out of the IPL, to get ready for the Test summer. I feel playing for Surrey in the championship was important. Equally playing in the Blast helped me get rhythm for the series. I have done anything too crazy but just a few changes.”

Wood will sit out the Hundred but England’s other Test players will appear in the tournament in the coming weeks. First back is Harry Brook, who captains Northern Superchargers on Tuesday evening against Southern Brave.