England Sets Fastest World Record in 147 Years with Spectacular Hitting Against West Indies
England went on a rampage against the West Indies in the second Test at Trent Bridge on Thursday. In a superb display of power-hitting, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope led England to reach a score of 50 in just 4.2 overs. This marks the first time in the 147-year history of Test cricket that a team has reached the 50-run mark in fewer than 27 balls. England broke their own previous record of reaching 50 in 4.3 overs, set against South Africa in 1994 at The Oval.
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
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and elected to field in the second Test against England at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Under sunny blue skies, conditions appeared ideal for batting on a lightly-grassed pitch. Brathwaite’s decision was understandable given his side’s recent struggles, having been bowled out for just 121 and 136 during an innings and 114-run defeat by England in the first Test at Lord’s last week.
“It looks a good cricket pitch, but I think we’ll utilize 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 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.”
Both sides had already named their teams before the toss. England recalled 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.
The West Indies, who had planned to remain unchanged, were forced to make a late alteration when spinner Gudakesh Motie woke up with the flu on the morning of the game and dropped out. This was a blow to the tourists, as Motie was the only one of their batsmen to pass 30 at Lord’s, where he was also their most impressive bowler. His place was taken by spin-bowling all-rounder Kevin Sinclair, playing in his second career Test. Sinclair made a fifty on his Test debut when the West Indies produced a stunning upset to beat Australia by eight runs in Brisbane in January.
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
Umpires: Adrian Holdstock (RSA), Rod Tucker (AUS)
TV Umpire: Nitin Menon (IND)
Match Referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)
