Category: West Indies

• Wood clocked 97.1mph in second Test at Trent Bridge
• Captain Ben Stokes says Wood ‘has got it in the tank’

Ben Stokes has backed Mark Wood to become the first person to be clocked bowling in excess of 100mph in Test cricket, after the Durham paceman’s electrifying performance at Trent Bridge last week saw him hit a top speed of 97.1mph. Wood has also forced West Indies to change their team for the third Test that starts at Edgbaston on Friday, Kevin Sinclair having fractured a forearm in Nottingham trying to fend off a bouncer.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc currently holds the record for the fastest delivery in Test cricket, with a 99.66mph effort against New Zealand in 2015. Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar holds the all-format international record with a ball clocked at 100.2mph against England in 2003.

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The 20-year-old spinner is clearly still raw but his promising start suggests he could play his way into plans for Australia

Word is yet to reach us as to whether England’s cricketers ended up at Mega Munch on Sunday night following that surging late victory at Trent Bridge. Just off Nottingham’s slightly chaotic market square, it did a sterling job two years ago – the scene of Ollie Pope’s first doner kebab, apparently – after so-called Bazball first burst into life.

Although a bit has changed since. Of the XI that beat New Zealand that day with that breakneck chase of 299, only four remained for the 241-run victory against West Indies that secured a first Test series win for England’s men since Pakistan in late 2022. Pope, Ben Stokes, Zak Crawley and Joe Root are the survivors, and Matthew Potts is still in the squad, but Jonny Bairstow, Alex Lees, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson have either moved – or been moved – on. So much for it being a cosy club.

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• England 416 & 425 bt West Indies 457 & 143 by 241 runs
• Spinner picks up five wickets as tourists collapse

Shoaib Bashir helped himself to a flurry of West Indian wickets after hundreds from Joe Root and Harry Brook set up England’s series-clinching 241-run win at Trent Bridge.

Root and Brook, the long-reigning king of England’s batting unit and his heir apparent, reeled off classy centuries to pave the way for a sprint to victory on the fourth evening of this second Test.

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• Live updates from day one at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
• Read the latest edition of The Spin | And mail Daniel

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Shoaib Bashir

West Indies: 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 Mikyle Louis, 3 Kirk McKenzie, 4 Alick Athanaze, 5 Kavem Hodge, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua da Silva (wk), 8 Kevin Sinclair, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Shamar Joseph, 11 Jayden Seales.

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• Durham bowler fills seam berth left by Anderson’s exit
• Matt Potts and uncapped Dillon Pennington also in frame

England have added Mark Wood to their squad for the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge on Thursday, the 34-year-old Durham fast bowler filling the place vacated by the retired Jimmy Anderson. The call-up pits Wood into a three-way battle for a single vacant seamer spot, alongside his county teammate Matt Potts and Nottinghamshire’s uncapped 25-year-old, Dillon Pennington.

That is assuming Gus Atkinson keeps his place after taking 12 wickets on debut in the opening Test and that England continue to pick a spinner. Shoaib Bashir was in the side at Lord’s, though such was the success of the seam attack he did not bowl a ball, and in England’s only innings was yet to score having faced 17 balls when he was run out by Mikyle Louis.

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Jimmy Anderson took his 704th and final wicket and Gus Atkinson picked up a debut 12-for on an emotional day at Lord’s

Remember when may be the lowest form of conversation, Mr Soprano, but it doesn’t have make good clickbait. Go on, you know you want to. Clickity click click click.

There’s more than one way to fit a farewell

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The almost-42 Test bowling ‘addict’ bows out knowing English cricket’s ‘big dogs’ have to look to next year’s Ashes

A couple of years ago New Scientist magazine received a letter asking whether composers will eventually run out of new combinations of notes with which to create original melodies. The answer, in practical terms, was no, although the sentiment behind the question comes to mind when trying to sum up Jimmy Anderson.

Such has been the number of milestones reached and breached by Anderson over the years that the rolling tributes have begun to struggle for new material. The artistry, the skill, the fitness, the wobble seam, the references to things that did not exist back when he made his Test debut in 2003, such as the iPhone, Facebook or Shoaib Bashir – the story of England’s record-wicket taker has been told and retold, from those formative, shy years in Burnley through to the bona fide British sporting great who bows out at Lord’s this week, starting on Wednesday.

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