Once Mark Wood bowled a devastating spell to bowl West Indies out for 175 in the second innings at Edgbaston, Ben Stokes walked out to open and smashed a quickfire fifty to seal an emphatic win. It was another early finish in the England-West Indies Test series as the hosts wrapped up the third Test within three days to seal a magnificent 3-0 series victory.
Mikyle Louis and Kavem Hodge led West Indies’ fightback through an ebullient 72-run partnership which helped the visitors score 118 runs in 27 overs, at the cost of three wickets, in the first session on Day 3. But the ferocity of Wood’s reverse swing was too much for West Indies to handle after Lunch as they lost their last five wickets for just 19 runs.
Ben Stokes, who came out to open as England needed just 82 runs to win, struck the fastest fifty in Test cricket by an England player – the joint third quickest overall- as England raced to the target in 7.2 overs to pocket a 10-wicket triumph inside eight sessions. Stokes finished unbeaten on 57 off 28 as England whitewashed West Indies in a Test series for the fourth time, all at home.
Brief scores: West Indies 282 (Kraigg Brathwaite 61, Jason Holder 59; Gus Atkinson 4-67) & 175 (Mikyle Louis 57, Kavem Hodge 55; Mark Wood 5-40) lost to England 376 (Jamie Smith 95, Joe Root 87; Alzarri Joseph 4-122) & 87/0 (Ben Stokes 57*, Ben Duckett 25*) by 10 wickets.
Middle stump 👋 pic.twitter.com/y7miSB6CfC
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 28, 2024
