England sets new record in second Test against West Indies

England started the second Test against the West Indies with a historic performance at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

Batting first after the visitors won the toss, the hosts maintained their aggressive "Bazball" approach. Despite losing Zak Crawley early, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope propelled England to the fastest team half-century in Test cricket history.

The duo reached the fifty-run mark in just 4.2 overs, surpassing the previous record of 4.3 overs set by England against South Africa in the 1994 Oval Test.

England also holds the third-fastest fifty, achieved in 4.6 overs against Sri Lanka in Manchester in 2002.

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

Before the match, England announced their lineup, including the return of fast bowler Mark Wood, following the retirement of veteran seamer James Anderson, who concluded his illustrious career with 704 Test wickets, the highest for any pace bowler.

The West Indies, initially planning an unchanged lineup, had to make a last-minute adjustment due to spinner Gudakesh Motie falling ill on the morning of the game. Kevin Sinclair, a spin-bowling all-rounder, replaced Motie for his second career Test. Motie had been the standout performer for the West Indies in their previous match at Lord's, both as a batter and a bowler.

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