It was the kind of lower-order demolition job once associated with West Indies, but on a heady third day at Edgbaston the tourists were the ones on the receiving end. Roared on by a capacity crowd after lunch, Mark Wood unleashed a truly electric burst of fast-twitch reverse swing that secured a 3-0 series clean sweep for England.
Not even Ben Stokes promoting himself to opener and crashing the fastest half-century by an Englishman – 24 balls, beating Ian Botham’s long-held record by four – could knock Wood off the top of the podium after this 10-wicket win. Stokes was murderous, no question, a target of 82 vaporised in about 40 minutes. But Wood, luckless in Nottingham last week despite bowling like the speed of light, was the catalyst here.
Even with a sense of inevitability about the end result after Jamie Smith’s stylish 95 led England’s turnaround on the second day, there was still a job to be done. And after West Indies hustled to 151 for five by lunch – a lead of 57 runs – it looked like that job would involve a good deal of patience. Kavem Hodge was well set on 52, while England knew plenty about the battling qualities of Joshua Da Silva at the other end.
Enter Wood, who was thrown a 41-over old ball by Stokes after the break and set off on a white-knuckle ride. He claimed five wickets in 21 deliveries and each one was met with a collective gasp. Attention may be on the Olympics, where all manner of remarkable feats are being delivered, but this was something to rival all that from a bowler who has a strong claim to be the fastest in England’s history.
To say the luck finally turned for Wood here would be to sell short the qualities that led to his fifth five‑wicket haul in Test cricket. Resistance was utterly futile out in the middle, Wood getting the ball to swing in late at speeds above 90mph and sending stumps cartwheeling like the gymnasts in Paris. West Indies may have a diplodocus’s tail but a good number of lower orders would have struggled to cope here.
It began with Da Silva being pinned lbw by a full ball – the wicketkeeper’s feet stuck in concrete by the pace and late movement – and ended with Shamar Joseph fencing meekly to slip. In between there were a pair of clonking clean-bowleds to wipe out Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales, while Hodge, one of the bright sparks for West Indies after that memorable century at Trent Bridge, was simply nicked off with a beauty.
After Wood walked off to a standing ovation, the ball raised to all corners as he did so, all that was left was for the openers to negotiate the target. The only catch was that one of them, Zak Crawley, was in hospital having a scan. A fractured little finger was the problem here, Crawley dropping a sharp catch off the bowling of Stokes during a more hard-fought morning session in which Mikyle Louis briefly crackled with 57.
Not for the first time, Stokes stepped up and in the time it took to queue for a pint, the target was monstered. Striking an unbeaten 57 from 28 balls, with Ben Duckett chipping in 25 more, the England captain sent the spectators into raptures – even if by doing so he also cut short their entertainment. Still, they got to witness a bit of history, Stokes belting Shamar Joseph over deep midwicket for the first of his two sixes and surpassing the 28-ball half-century that Botham struck against India in 1981.
Lord Beefy will probably raise a glass of red to this, although for Stokes, satisfaction was to be found elsewhere. A series that started with an emotional farewell for Jimmy Anderson ended with a handful of newcomers having announced themselves. Among them was Gus Atkinson, who took his tally for the series to 22 wickets when before lunch Surrey’s slippery quick pinned Jason Holder lbw for 12, hinted at the reverse that was to follow and ensured Crawley’s painful drop was at least not costly in terms of runs.
Smith was another, with scores of 70 at Lord’s and 95 here underlining his talents with the bat. Less discussed was the solid wicketkeeping that returned 14 catches and was generally sound throughout. And while Shoaib Bashir was among the support cast in Birmingham after last week’s five‑wicket haul at Trent Bridge, the off-spinner still got things moving on the third morning by trapping Alick Athanaze lbw on the sweep.
There is a case to say that with the series already secured, England should have blooded Dillon Pennington or Matt Potts here. But while Chris Woakes was pretty sore by the end, sending down only a couple of overs on the final day, his role as a home banker was highlighted by four wickets in the match and another precious half-century with the bat. As well as being nearly seven years younger, these all-round qualities are what undermine any comparisons with Anderson’s enforced retirement.
England have made progress since the 4-1 defeat in India, albeit home conditions and the strength of opposition must be taken into account. That said, for all the obvious concerns about West Indies, a number of green shoots were visible amid the rubble of a one-sided contest: green shoots like the emergence of the stylish Hodge or a pace attack that has the potential to be world beating if afforded time, resources and fixtures.
The question is whether this is actually possible as the red weed of franchise cricket continues its unchecked spread, or whether the global game’s priorities require urgent recalibration. With all three grounds packed out for this series – Test cricket also accounting for the bulk of the broadcast money in this country – and the Hundred getting off to another low-key start, English cricket’s surrender to the current direction of travel is pretty hard to fathom.