England maintained their aggressive Bazball approach after being put in to bat by the West Indies in the second Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Despite an early dismissal of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope helped England achieve the fastest-ever team fifty in Test cricket history.
England’s fifty in 4.2 overs surpassed their previous record set in 1994, when they reached a fifty in 4.3 overs against South Africa at The Oval. They also hold the third spot with a fifty in 4.6 overs against Sri Lanka in Manchester in 2002.
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Fastest Team 50s in Test Cricket:
- 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 teams announced their squads before the toss, with England recalling fast bowler Mark Wood after veteran seamer James Anderson retired from international cricket with 704 Test wickets, a record for any pace bowler, following the Lord’s Test.
The West Indies, planning to field an unchanged side, had to make a last-minute change when spinner Gudakesh Motie fell ill with the flu on the morning of the game. This was a significant setback as Motie had been the only West Indies batter to score over 30 at Lord’s and their most effective bowler.
Kevin Sinclair, a spin-bowling all-rounder, replaced Motie for his second career Test.
