England captain Ben Stokes on Sunday hailed fast bowler Mark Wood for showing “the heart of a lion” after his side routed the West Indies by 10 wickets in the third Test at Edgbaston to complete a 3-0 series whitewash.
Wood polished off the tail with a thrilling spell of 5-9 in six overs to finish with 5-40 in 14 as the West Indies were dismissed for 175 in their second innings.
That left England needing just 82 to win, with Stokes — opening in place of the injured Zak Crawley — smashing a 24-ball fifty as he broke Ian Botham’s record for the quickest Test half-century by an England batsman of 28 balls against India in Delhi that had stood since 1981.
Photo: Reuters
However, Stokes preferred to heap praise on Durham teammate Wood after the 35-year-old express quick, unlucky to take just two wickets during England’s win in the second Test at Trent Bridge last week, was properly rewarded for a potent post-lunch spell in Birmingham.
All the traits of a modern top-class fast bowler were on show as Wood — whose career has been blighted by injuries — mixed bouncers with full-length deliveries that flattened the stumps, while repeatedly threatening the outside edge with reverse swing.
“It was an amazing spell,” Stokes said. “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,” Stokes said. “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.”
As for his batting exploits, which eventually took left-handed batsman Stokes to 57 not out off 28 balls, including nine fours and two sixes, the 33-year-old all-rounder said: “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.”
“Once one hit the middle I was like, yeah I might as well have a crack,” Stokes said. “I genuinely didn’t know about the record.”
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