England captain Ben Stokes 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 on Sunday 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. Stokes, however, preferred to heap praise on Durham team-mate 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.