England’s Wood and Stokes shine in dominant series win over West Indies

Mark Wood blew the West Indies away with a ferocious spell of fast bowling as England cricket racked up a thumping 10-wicket victory and a 3-0 series sweep in three days at Edgbaston.

Wood brought the heat in Birmingham, terrorising the tourists as he ended their second-innings resistance with the kind of destructive performance once associated with the kings of Caribbean cricket.

Ben Stokes then showed the same panache with the bat, taking a rare turn at opener and blazing the fastest ever half-century by an Englishman – taking just 24 frantic deliveries.

The 35-year-old, who left Trent Bridge with just two wickets last week despite clearing 97mph in one of the fastest displays ever seen on English soil, finally saw his luck change as he picked up five for 40.

He took them in a ferocious spell after lunch, dismissing Josh Da Silva, Alzarri Joseph, Kavem Hodge, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph in the space of 21 dramatic deliveries.

By the time he was done the tourists had slumped from 156 for five to 175 all out, leaving England chasing just 82 to win.

With Zak Crawley sent for scans on a finger injury he sustained in the slips, captain Stokes took the opportunity to promote himself to opener and gave the crowd the entertainment they came for.

Stokes blasted 10 fours and two sixes as he made 57 not out in just 28 balls, hitting the Windies attack around like it was a benefit match.

England’s whitewash is a welcome one as they last won a multi-match series back in December 2022, but the fact they have needed just 10 days of active cricket out of a scheduled 15 also gives cause for concern.

This is a West Indies side that has struggled to stay competitive for extended periods, lacks experience and depth and continues to operate without the region’s best known players, several of whom such as Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell are currently in this country cashing in on contracts in the Hundred.

With a modest-looking Sri Lanka side arriving for three Tests in the second half of the summer, more early finishes and more big margins could well be on the way.

But that is a concern for the administrators rather than the players on the park, who did their work with flair and authority here.

They took three wickets in the morning session, effectively ending chances of a serious West Indian fightback, then delivered the killer one-two punch. Wood energised the crowd as he tore through what remained of the visiting line-up and Stokes put a bow on things with a hint of showmanship, swiping, swatting and slaying allcomers.

England, 61 in front with eight wickets to get, grabbed an early one as Shoaib Bashir justified the decision to hand him first use of the Birmingham End.

Alick Athanaze, fresh from taking a 90mph bumper to the body at the hands of Wood, got his timings wrong as he aimed a sweep at the off-spinner and was lbw for 12.

Bashir was behind the West Indian demise last week but this was the end of his contribution rather than the start of another bumper haul. Things might have been different for him had he taken out Hodge with his very next delivery but his edge split the difference between wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and Joe Root at first slip.

Hodge had another slice of luck when an edge off Wood sailed past the cordon for four but he and Mikyle Louis posted a breezy stand of 72 as they cleared the remainder of the deficit and began building a lead.

England were never likely to let them off the hook, though. Stokes, firing up for his fastest recorded spell in four years as he touched 87mph, had Louis caught at second slip for 57 by Crawley and Gus Atkinson pinned Jason Holder lbw before lunch.

A lead of 57 at lunch gave the West Indies something to work with but Wood snatched their hope away as he worked up an adrenaline rush. It was enthralling to watch. Da Silva was bamboozled by reverse swing, the umpire’s finger going up as soon as the ball rapped the front pad, and Alzarri saw his middle stump flattened by a vicious yorker.

Wood rattled the timbers again when Seales failed to protect his off stump and Hodge, who showed heart to make 55, followed with a thin edge to one that zoomed into Jamie Smith’s gloves.

It would have been cruel to deny Wood his fifth wicket and Joseph did not stand in his way, threading a catch to Harry Brook, who held a sharp one.

Crawley absence gave Stokes the pretext to play entertainer and he made it a brief but memorable afternoon. Starting in fifth gear he swung from the hip and peppered the ropes with a series of increasingly dismissive blows. Having set his country’s new record for a half-century he finished things with a pair of maximums, hoisting Shamar and Kraigg Brathwaite into the stands.