STATS HIGHLIGHTS
Follow UsAfter Mark Wood’s fiery spell in the second session that blew West Indies away, England just needed 82 runs to complete a whitewash.
These 82 runs were supposed to be a boring formality, but, with Zak Crawley struggling with a finger injury, Ben Stokes promoted himself to open and produced a scintillating knock for the ages.
The England skipper smashed a 24-ball 50, the fastest for England in Test history, and his burst helped England secure the victory inside eight overs.
It was a record-breaking knock from Stokes. Here are some stats from Stokes’ knock, and also the series, overall.
Stats highlights
By scoring 50 off just 24 balls, Stokes obliterated the record that Ian Botham held for 43 years.
Fastest fifties by an Englishman in Tests
24 balls - Ben Stokes vs West Indies in Birmingham, 2024
28 balls - Ian Botham vs India in Delhi, 1981
30 balls - Jonny Bairstow vs New Zealand in Leeds, 2022
32 balls - Ian Botham vs New Zealand at The Oval, 1986
It was the joint third-fastest fifty in Test history as well
Fastest fifties in Test history
21 balls - Misbah-ul-Haq vs Australia in Abu Dhabi, 2014
23 balls - David Warner vs Pakistan in Sydney, 2017
24 balls - Ben Stokes vs West Indies in Birmingham, 2024
24 balls - Jacques Kallis vs Zimbabwe in Cape Town, 2005
Not just that, Stokes’ 24-ball 50 was the second-fastest by an opener in Test history.
Fastest fifties by an opener in Tests
23 balls - David Warner vs Pakistan in Sydney, 2017
24 balls - Ben Stokes vs West Indies in Birmingham, 2024
26 balls - Shahid Afridi vs India in Bengaluru, 2005
28 balls - Chris Gayle vs New Zealand in Port of Spain, 2014
In the chase, Stokes and Ben Duckett added together 87 runs off just 51 balls. It was the quickest scoring 50+ run partnership in Test history.
Fastest scoring 50+ run partnerships in Tests
11.86 RPO - Stokes & Duckett vs West Indies in Birmingham, 2024
11.55 RPO - Boult & Wagner vs England in Leeds, 2013
11.35 RPO - Johnson & Siddle vs South Africa in Johannesburg, 2009
11.20 RPO - Brook & Jacks vs Pakistan in Rawalpindi, 2022
RPO - Runs Per Over*
Stokes and Duckett’s partnership helped England complete a 3-0 whitewash. This was just the Three Lions’ third whitewash at home since 2011. It’s the second home whitewash of the Stokes-McCullum era as well.
England whitewashing teams at home since 2011
3-0 vs West Indies in 2024
3-0 vs New Zealand in 2022
4-0 vs India in 2011
Moving to the bowling, Gus Atkinson ended the series with 22 wickets to his name. In England’s Test history, only three other bowlers have picked more wickets after three Tests.
Most wickets by an England bowler after 3 Tests
Sir Alec Bedser - 24
Fred Trueman - 24
Tom Richardson - 23
Gus Atkinson - 22
Also, earlier in this series, Shoaib Bashir became the youngest England bowler to take a 5-for at home.
Youngest England bowlers to take a home 5-fer
Shoaib Bashir - 20y 279d
James Anderson - 20y 296d
Steven Finn - 21y 53d
George Lohmann - 21y 71d
Other notable stats
Joe Root became the second-youngest in history to 12,000 Test runs
Kirk McKenzie registered the lowest average for a West Indies batter in a series
Kraigg Brathwaite, in this Test, registered the second-fastest fifty of his Test career
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