In Thursday’s second Test at Trent Bridge against the West Indies, England went on the rampage. Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, who both have tremendous hitting powers, went on the rampage as England reached 50 runs in just 4.2 overs. In the 147-year history of the Test Cricket competition, this is the first time a side has scored 50 runs in fewer than 27 balls. By doing this, England surpassed their own record of reaching 50 against South Africa at The Oval in 4.3 overs in 1994.
Kraigg Brathwaite, the captain of the West Indies, won the toss and decided to field against England on Thursday at Trent Bridge in the second Test.
There was light grass on the ground and bright blue skies overhead, making for perfect batting conditions.
However, Brathwaite’s choice made sense considering that his team had lost the opening Test at Lord’s last week, losing by an innings and 114 runs, after being knocked out for just 121 and 136.
“It looks a good cricket pitch, but I think we’ll utilise what we get today,” Brathwaite said, with the West Indies looking to level the three-match series at 1-1.
“With the ball, we could be a lot of more disciplined. That’s one thing we’ve talked about.
“Batting wise, we’ve got to build partnerships and score at least 300 runs in the first innings.”
England captain Ben Stokes added: “It was a tough one if we’d have won the toss. I’ll keep to myself what we were going to do.”
Before the toss, both teams announced their lineups. England had called up fast bowler Mark Wood, while veteran seamer James Anderson had announced his retirement from international cricket after the Lord’s Test, having taken the most wickets in the format with 704 Tests.
On the morning of the match, spinner Gudakesh Motie woke up with the flu and had to withdraw, forcing the West Indies, who had planned to stick with their original lineup, to make a last-minute change.
Motie was the only batsman for the tourists to reach the thirty-spot at Lord’s, where he was also the most potent bowler in the West Indies, therefore it was a setback to them.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Kevin Sinclair, playing in his second Test of the season, took his position.
In January, Sinclair scored fifty runs on his Test debut as the West Indies pulled off an incredible upset, defeating Australia by eight runs in Brisbane.
Fastest team 50s in Test cricket:
4.2 overs – England vs WI, Nottingham, 2024
4.3 overs – England vs SA, The Oval, 1994
4.6 overs – England vs SL, Manchester, 2002
5.2 overs – Sri Lanka vs PAK, Karachi, 2004
5.3 overs – India vs ENG, Chennai, 2008
5.3 overs – India vs WI, Port of Spain, 2023
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