With two fours in the first over from Alzarri Joseph, Stokes got the innings underway. Jayden Seales then gave him two more in the following over.
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Ben Stokes, the captain of England, hit the fastest half-century for his nation in Test history as his team defeated the West Indies 3-0 at Edgbaston to win the three-match series. Stokes hammered a half-century off 24 balls on Sunday, helping England reach their 82-run target in 7.2 overs. With a convincing victory over the West Indies on Sunday in Birmingham, England completed a series rout. Day four of the contest was still up for grabs, but England’s precise bowling effort, spearheaded by Mark Wood, enabled them limit the West Indies to 175 runs.
After conceding just nine runs in a period, Wood claimed five wickets at a rate of five for forty.
Opening the batting with Ben Duckett (25* in 16 balls, four boundaries), Stokes (57* in 28 balls, nine fours, two sixes) and the opposition went to war from the outset, needing 82 to score.
With two fours in the first over from Alzarri Joseph, Stokes got the innings underway. Jayden Seales then gave him two more in the following over.
After continuing to hit hard, the captain became the fastest English player to reach a half-century in Test cricket history in just 24 balls. Furthermore, in Test cricket, it was the third-fastest fifty-score.
The fastest fifty in Test history was reached by Misbah-ul-Haq in 2014 against Australia, needing just 21 balls to reach a half-century.
The West Indies had won the toss and chosen to bat first in the match. WI reached 282/10 in their opening inning thanks to a half-century from captain Kraigg Braithwaite (61 in 86 balls, with eight fours), as well as good efforts from Jason Holder (59 in 112 balls, with six fours and a six) and wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva (49 in 99 balls, with three fours). England’s two best bowlers were Chris Woakes (3/69) and Gus Atkinson (4/67).
England had a rough start, but they responded well in their opening innings. Joe Root (87 in 124 balls, seven fours) and Stokes (54 in 69 balls, five fours and a six) shared a 115-run partnership that helped England stabilize when the hosts were reeling at 54/5. After that, England passed WI’s first innings total and were up by 94 runs at 376 all-out because to the efforts of wicketkeeper Jamie Smith (95 in 109 balls, 12 fours, and a six) and all-rounder Woakes (62 in 78 balls, seven fours). The best bowler for Wisconsin was Alzarri Joseph (4/122).
WI put up very little fight in their second inning, being bundled out for just 175 runs, Mikyle Louis (57 in 95 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Kavem Hodge (55 in 76 balls, with seven fours) scoring half-centuries, leaving England with an 82-run target to pursue.
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