England made a rollicking start to the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge, as they scored the fastest-ever team fifty in men's Test cricket.
England race off despite early wicket
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to field first in Nottingham. Alzarri Joseph opened the bowling for the visitors and got them off to the perfect start as Zak Crawley nicked the third ball to Alick Athanaze at third slip, leaving England 0-1.
No.3 Ollie Pope hit the first runs of the match, driving Joseph down the ground for four off the final delivery of the first over. The second over saw England start to motor, as Jayden Seales came into the attack and opener Ben Duckett faced up to him.
Gudakesh Motie had to be withdrawn late from the XI for the second England-West Indies Test at Trent Bridge.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 18, 2024
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After a wide off the first ball, Seales watched as Duckett reeled off four consecutive fours and a double, taking the total in the over to 19 runs. Twelve more followed in the third over as Pope got two more boundaries away off Alzarri Joseph.
Another nine runs came off the fourth over, leaving England 44-1. Duckett then managed a two off the first ball of the fifth over, before punching Joseph through the covers to bring up the fifty for England, in just 26 balls, making it the fastest-ever team fifty in men's Test cricket (where data is available).
Fastest team fifties in men's Test cricket
With this effort, England broke the previous record of 27 deliveries, set by them in 1994. On that occasion, openers Graham Gooch and Michael Atherton raced to the mark to give England a platform to chase down 204 for victory against South Africa at the Oval. Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe, who came in later, also scored briskly and helped complete an eight-wicket win in just 35.3 overs.
England now holds the record for the three fastest team fifties in men's Test cricket (where data is available). The top five are as follows.
- 26 balls - England vs West Indies, Nottingham, 2024
- 27 balls - England vs South Africa, The Oval, 1994
- 30 balls - England vs Sri Lanka, Manchester, 2002
- 32 balls - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, Karachi, 2004
- 33 balls - India vs England, Chennai, 2008
- 33 balls - India vs West Indies, Port of Spain, 2023
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