Captain Ben Stokes hit the fastest ever Test 50 for England yesterday as his side beat the West Indies by 10 wickets at Edgbaston to take the series 3-0.
His half-century came in just 24 balls, having opened the batting alongside Ben Duckett in the fourth innings, chasing down 82 to win the Test match in Birmingham.
Stokes finished on 57 with his partner on 25 as England concluded the innings on 87 for 0.
It came after pacer Mark Wood took five wickets for 40 runs in a spell that helped reduce the West Indies to just 175 in their second innings.
England captain Stokes said: “Everyone in the changing room said they’d do it [open], but I said I would. It was about keeping everyone in the same position. A couple hit the middle of the bat, I was seeing it quite well.
“Colly’s [Paul Collingwood] the record man in the dressing room, he likes to keep track – he told me [about his fastest England fifty] upstairs.
“Wood was unbelievable this afternoon. That was his reward he deserved after last week. To see him bowling not just fast but with extreme skill. And when the ball’s swinging he’s very difficult to face. That’s why you want to express pace in your team. When the game’s there to take hold of, you throw him the ball. It’s a reward he got for a fairly luckless six or seven days of Test cricket.”
Added the England all-rounder: “Not only with the bat, I think Jamie’s been incredibly tidy behind the stumps without being noticeable. The two big innings that he played were a great sign of him understanding that role without really playing it all that much. A sign of his character is that he was happy with his 95, he wasn’t thinking about his personal milestone, he put the team first.”