England beat West Indies by 10 wickets at Edgbaston on Sunday (July 28) to record a 3-0 series victory, and improve their points percentage in the World Test Championship standings.
England had already won the series coming into the third Test, having taken an unassailable 2-0 lead after victories at Lord's and Trent Bridge. This match was still important to both sides, for the World Test Championship points at stake.
The hosts managed to take a 94-run first innings lead thanks to a rearguard effort from the lower-order, before pacer Mark Wood ripped through West Indies' tail on day three to help bowl them out for just 175.
Chasing 82 for victory, England captain Ben Stokes opened the innings in place of the injured Zak Crawley, and in the company of Ben Duckett, achieved the target in a mere 7.2 overs. In the course of his unbeaten 57, Stokes registered the fastest Test fifty by an Englishman.
Fastest Test fifty for England ✅
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 28, 2024
Joint-third fastest fifty in Test history ✅
Ben Stokes briefly threatened breaking all-time Test record earlier today...
Check the fastest Test fifties list here: https://t.co/iEWCEJ09cs pic.twitter.com/ni6zJbmmOH
Updated WTC points table: England improve PCT, West Indies remain rooted to bottom
Coming into this Test series, England had been at the bottom of the WTC points table, thanks in no small part to a total of 19 points deducted for slow over-rates through the competition. They had remained there even after winning the first Test, and West Indies had also held on to their sixth-ranked spot after that result.
Also read: Player ratings for England after their 3-0 series win over West Indies
The second Test at Trent Bridge proved decisive in terms of affecting both teams' league positions. That win lifted England from a points percentage of 25% to 31.25%, and sent West Indies from 26.66% to 22.22%, meaning they exchanged positions, with South Africa and Bangladesh remaining in seventh and eighth place respectively.
The Edgbaston result has served to solidify both sides' positions. England now has a points percentage of 36.54%, marginally behind Pakistan in fifth place. A win in their next Test against Sri Lanka (without any points deductions) will take them above their opponents, into fourth place.
Read more: Sri Lanka shock India to win first ever Asia Cup title
Meanwhile, West Indies remain firmly rooted to the bottom of the table, with a points percentage of 19.05%. They have won just one of their seven matches in the current cycle and are all but out of the running for a place in next year's final. Their next fixture is against South Africa on August 7.
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