England got off to a flying start in the second Test against the West Indies, currently underway at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
The hosts continued with their famous Bazball approach after the Caribbeans put them in to bat. Although Zak Crawley departed early, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope helped England record the fastest-ever team half-century in Test cricket.
England's 4.2-over fifty is now the fastest for a team in Test cricket. The Englishmen broke their own record, having hammered one in 4.3 overs against South Africa in the 1994 Oval Test. England also occupy the third spot with a fifty in 4.6 overs against Sri Lanka in 2002 in Manchester.
Fastest team 50s in Test cricket: (where known)
4.2 - England vs WI, Nottingham, 2024
4.3 - England vs SA, The Oval, 1994
4.6 - England vs SL, Manchester, 2002
5.2 - Sri Lanka vs PAK, Karachi, 2004
5.3 - India vs ENG, Chennai, 2008
5.3 - India vs WI, Port of Spain, 2023
Both sides had already named their teams before the toss, with England recalling fast bowler Mark Wood after veteran seamer James Anderson retired from international duty with 704 Test wickets—a record for any pace bowler in the format—following the Lord's Test.
However, the West Indies, who had planned to be unchanged, were forced to make a late alteration when spinner Gudakesh Motie woke up with 'flu on the morning of the game and had to drop out.
It was a blow to the tourists, with Motie being the only one of their batter to pass 30 at Lord's, where he was also the West Indies' most impressive bowler.
His place was taken by spin-bowling all-rounder Kevin Sinclair, who came in for his second career Test.
Teams:
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wkt), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva (wkt), Kevin Sinclair, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales
