Ben Stokes praised Mark Wood for setting up an easy win to seal a series victory against West Indies in the post-match presentation at Edgbaston. England celebrated their 10-wicket victory in the third test and completed the game in Day 03.
Ben Stokes fashionably ended the match after chasing down a low target of 82 runs in the afternoon. England’s Captain opened for the side after Zak Crawley’s little finger fracture in the field and smashed the fastest fifty in 24 deliveries by an England batter.
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Alongside Ben Duckett, they chased down the target of 82 in 7.2 overs, While speaking in the post-match conference, Stokes hailed Wood for his outstanding efforts with the ball. Despite picking two wickets at Trent Bridge, Wood threatened Windies batters with reverse swings.
“It was an amazing spell. He’s got the heart of a lion and that’s exactly what you want as a captain. The skill and the X-factor he has…it looked like he was going to take a wicket every ball. He’s walked off with five-for but I still don’t think he’s got the rewards he actually deserves for the effort he’s put in over the last two Test matches.
“He’s just been incredible. He’s known for running in spell after spell, ball after ball, and giving everything he possibly can towards the team and the shirt but that spell this afternoon was awesome. Not only was it fast but it was extremely skilful and came at a time when I sensed it was time to blow them away.”
“I was always going to go out there and try to be ultra-positive. At a certain stage it was just about trying to hit every ball for four or six,” he said. “Once one hit the middle I was like, yeah I might as well have a crack. I genuinely didn’t know about the record. Paul Collingwood told me up in the dressing room that I had the fastest 50 for England, he’s the one who checks the records. I’m pretty chuffed to go past Beefy. A bottle of champagne would be appreciated!”
England made some changes to the side, after suffering a series defeat after a 4-1 loss against India. Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, and Shoaib Bashir were brought in as Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes, and Jack Leach went out.
Shoaib Bashir picked a five-wicket haul in the second test helping the side to secure a win in the second test. Gus Atkinson who made his test debut in the series, was named as the Player of the Series after picking 22 wickets.
