ENG VS WI - 3rd Test, West Indies tour of England, 2024

Ben Stokes' England are back to winning ways and how after that disappointing tour to India earlier in the year. Yes, the West Indies weren't quite expected to give them a real run for their money but they've come out here and stamped their authority once again by sweeping the series 3-0. It was a series with a lot of memorable moments, not in the least of which was Jimmy Anderson's last Test match. Gus Atkinson's superb debut at Lord's, Kavem Hodge's fighting century at Trent Bridge, Mark Wood's fire-breathing spell and Stokes' blitz both here at Edgbaston - just to mention a few. It seemed like business as usual for England, no heavy celebrations in the aftermath as they look ahead to a series against Sri Lanka next. The West Indies, much like they did in Australia earlier, showed promise but lacked the proficiency once more to get past a side like England. They'll have lots to work on before their series against South Africa at home. That wraps things up. We hope you enjoyed our coverage for this game. This is Anurag Hegde, Raju Peethala and Praveen Kumar saying goodbye.

Ben Stokes | England Captain: (On Mark Wood) Amazing, the rewards that he got there were later than he deserved. The effort that he always puts in when he puts on an England shirt is remarkable. He’s got a lion’s heart. He blew the game open for us. Definitely deserves more than what he got. Wood knows how much he affects the game from the other end, he might not always get the wickets but he knows the bowler at the other end might get them. That spell in the afternoon was phenomenal, looked like he could take a wicket every ball. He’s very important, that hour shows why we need him in the team, the x-factor he brings in with his pace is very important. (On opening the batting) It was to keep everyone else in the same position. If it was 250-300, we might’ve just moved everyone up. (On breaking Botham’s record for the fastest fifty by an Englishman) Bottle of champagne would probably be more appreciated. Pretty cool to go past Beefy (Botham) with that one. Gus and Jamie, what a first series for them. Gus’ debut couldn’t have got any better. He’s improved every single spell. Different conditions here and he showed his skills. Great to be able to throw the ball to two guys who’ve got such pace. Jamie Smith has been exceptional with bat and as a keeper you sort of want to be unnoticed. He’s grown into that no.7 role very nicely. You look at where we were in this game, 54/5, 18 months ago we might’ve responded in a one-dimensional way but now everyone knows they have to do and play in a way that best suits the situation. This is a great win. Everytime we walk out on to the field we want to win. We really like to focus on our process and do what we think is best, the results will then take care of themselves.

Kraigg Brathwaite | West Indies Captain: Looking back 280 wasn't enough (talking about the first innings batting efforts), it was a better wicket than 280. That said, we batted decently well, but the discipline (with the ball) wasn't good enough. It was a big moment (talking about the non-review moment against Root early on in his innings), that was a key moment but I do think generally we weren't good enough to put the batting group under pressure for longer periods and we need to improve on that for sure. We didn't hit that area (top of off) long enough and it wasn't obviously easy to control (talking about the quality of batters), so what we want to do is look at the things we did back in Australia and have more consistency and control. We never give up, we always come back and fight. We were good in pieces, and we have two Test matches pretty much in a week's time and so very excited for these two games coming up against South Africa. I am doing good and looking forward to these 2 Test matches, we have to see how far we have improved in the first Test against South Africa.

Jayden Seales | West Indies’ Player of the Series: Proud of being able to represent the West Indies in Test cricket again, it is a big thing. Always looking to improve. Was deliberate for me to come across and play for Sussex to understand the conditions and see how I can utilize conditions here. (Bowling to England) It was tough at times, they played freely and they took options once you gave them a chance. Once we all develop our skills and become better bowlers, we will become a force to be reckoned with. Body is not bad, looking forward to the next series at home.

Gus Atkinson | England's Player of the Series: I didn't come with any expectations (into this series), but to take a few wickets is great. It was a special (talking about the first Test at Lord's where Anderson played his final Test)and an incredible week and one I won't be able to forget. To run in hard and hit the pitch hard (talking about his approach), that is all I tried to do this series and I have also learned a lot in this series about the swing and different sorts of line and length bowling and am looking forward to the next series against Sri Lanka. Bowling with Woody (talking about Mark Wood and his spell today), he is so good and he is always there to help you out. Watching him was special and it was great to watch. It was great fun and a series I won't forget. Looking forward to the future.

Mark Wood | Player of the Match: Bit of a relief. Speaking to the management, was a bit down and frustrated (after the previous game). Jimmy (Anderson) gave me a great chat. Tried to swing the ball and get it in the right areas. First wicket gave me a lot of confidence and went from there. You have to adapt to the conditions, my role in the team is to bowl fast and I was glad that I was able to keep the pace up. Hopefully I can maintain it through the summer. I was a little bit down having not got the outcome I wanted (at Trent Bridge) but he wanted me to work on myself. He was more game plan focused, it’s always great to speak to Jimmy on skill aspects. It’s hard, you have to bowl in the nets by yourself, run in, bowl, pick the ball up and bowl again. It’s boring but these are the results. Everytime you play for England is special. Playing back to back Tests and keeping the pace up is great, the physio has done a lot of work on me. Body feels good.

Stats round-up by Roshan Gede

The last instance of West Indies being clean-swept in a Test series featuring three or more matches came way back in 2005/06 (0-3 in Australia).

England’s series clean-sweeps against West Indies
3-0 in 1928 (Home)
4-0 in 2004 (Home)
2-0 in 2009 (Home)
3-0 in 2024 (Home)

Highest run-rate for a 50-plus partnership in Tests (any wicket)
11.86 - 87*(44) - Ben Stokes & Ben Duckett (ENG) vs WI, Edgbaston, 2024
11.55 - 52(27) - Trent Boult & Neil Wagner (NZ) vs ENG, Headingley, 2013
11.35 - 53(28) - Mitchell Johnson & Peter Siddle (AUS) vs SA, Johannesburg, 2009
11.2 - 56(30) - Harry Brook & Will Jacks (ENG) vs PAK, Rawalpindi, 2024
10.89 - 118 (65) - Nathan Astle & Chris Cairns (NZ) vs ENG, Christchurch, 2002
Previous record for the opening wicket: 10 - 50*(30) between Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick (ENG) vs SL, Old Trafford, 2002

Fastest team fifties in Tests (where known)
4.2 overs - ENG vs WI, Trent Bridge, 2024
4.2 overs - ENG vs WI, Edgbaston, 2024
4.3 overs - ENG vs SA, The Oval, 1994
5 overs - ENG vs SL, Old Trafford, 2002
5.2 overs - SL vs PAK, Karachi, 2004

Fastest Test fifties (by balls faced)
21 - Misbah-ul-Haq (PAK) vs AUS, Abu Dhabi, 2014
23 - David Warner (AUS) vs PAK, Sydney, 2017
24 - Jacques Kallis (SA) vs ZIM, Cape Town, 2005
24 - Ben Stokes (ENG) vs WI, Edgbaston, 2024
25 - Shane Shillingford (WI) vs NZ, Kingston, 2014
Previous fastest for England: 28 balls - Ian Botham vs India (Delhi, 1981)

The West Indies came into this game having shown a lot of promise at Trent Bridge. The surface here was expected to suit batting too but everything didn't go to plan after they elected to bat first. Their middle-order crumbled once again after the openers gave a good start but a recovery effort led by Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva meant that they could recover and post something respectable. They had England on the brink after that but they couldn't drive home the advantage. After being reduced to 54/5, Root, Stokes, Smith and Woakes showed incredible character to not only bring England back on track but to also push them into ascendancy. They claimed a 94-run lead and made early inroads with the ball last evening. They added three more wickets this morning to the two they picked up last evening and that left us with all the jaw-dropping action we witnessed in the past couple of hours.

15:26 Local Time, 14:26 GMT, 19:56 IST: What an exhibition it has been from England in that session. First it was Mark Wood with a remarkable spell of fast bowling before Stokes came out and entertained everybody with his range of strokeplay! The people at Edgbaston got what they'd bargained for. A win that fits the Bazball bill to a tee. The day started with the odds tilted in England's favour but not many would've predicted they'd return with a win inside two sessions. After a relatively sedate morning, the West Indies were wrecked by Mark Wood as he ran through all 5 of their remaining wickets in the afternoon. Then it was the Ben Stokes show. Opening in place of an injured Zak Crawley, the English skipper batted to entertain. He struck the ball all around, spared no one who came up against him and raced along to notch up the fastest fifty by an Englishman (24 balls). If the West Indies' spirit wasn't broken by the battering from Mark Wood earlier, it most certainly would've after that onslaught from Stokes. They were simply brushed aside.

Brathwaite to Stokes, SIX, that'll be it, England get it done in stylish fashion! Banged in short again, this time Stokes was ready for it, he smacked it clean over the long leg ropes

Brathwaite to Stokes, no run, well well! Hurls a bouncer down leg, Stokes lets it go down

Kraigg Brathwaite, right-arm off break, comes into the attack

Just one run needed now and the West Indies are going to take their time

Shamar Joseph to Stokes, 1 run, he'll leave it to himself in the next over, back of a length on middle, pulled firmly down to deep square leg

Shamar Joseph to Stokes, no run, very full outside off, Stokes goes hard on this and carves it straight to cover