Third Rothesay Test (day three of five), Edgbaston

West Indies 282 (Brathwaite 61; Atkinson 4-67) & 175 (Louis 57; Wood 5-40)

England 376 (Smith 95; Joseph 4-122) & 87-0 (Stokes 57*)

England win by 10 wickets

Scorecard

Mark Wood took five wickets in a devastating spell of fast bowling as England wrapped up a 3-0 series victory over West Indies with an emphatic 10-wicket win in the third Test.

A raucous day three Edgbaston crowd roared Wood on after the lunch interval as his 5-9 in six overs spectacularly blew away the tourists, who began the day on 33-2, for 175.

Set a notional 82 for victory skipper Ben Stokes then hit England’s fastest-ever Test half-century off just 24 balls, as stepped in to open the batting.

Stokes, who finished unbeaten on 57, had opened with fellow left-hander Ben Duckett after regular opener Zak Crawley injured a finger in the field and thrilled supporters with some carefree Bazball hitting.

His knock included nine fours and two sixes as the hosts romped to the target in just 7.2 overs.

West Indies had earlier shown some resistance thanks to a maiden Test fifty for Mikyle Louis, while Kavem Hodge also made a measured half-century, before Wood supercharged the atmosphere with a superb spell.

This was the first time in his Test career that Wood has taken five wickets in a single spell, and there some truly eye-catching dismissals to savour.

He started by trapping Joshua Da Silva lbw with a toe-crushing full ball which the West Indies wicketkeeper knew was plumb, wasting no time in exiting stage left.

Alzarri Joseph then saw his middle stump uprooted by a delivery which tailed in past his bat before Hodge prodded at one and edged it into the gloves of Jamie Smith.

With three wickets in the bag Wood went for the kill, as the decibel levels in the Eric Hollies Stand rose every time an over of his began.

They sensed this was fast bowling of the highest calibre, and would doubtless even have drawn nods of approval from the great West Indian fast bowlers of yore.

Wood then sent Jayden Seales’ off stump cartwheeling out of the ground – the most spectacular dismissal of the lot – having softened up the tail ender with a short ball moments earlier.

He secured his fourth five-wicket haul in 35 Tests two balls later when Shamar Joseph edged him to second slip where Harry Brook snaffled a smart diving catch.

There were eyebrows raised when Wood was handed a three-year central contract by the England & Wales Cricket Board last November, a couple of months shy of his 34th birthday.

He was only two players to be given deals of that length – the other was Brook – but on this evidence it looks a smart call despite his age.

Wood is bowling as quickly, aggressively and smartly as ever. A promise to break the 100mph could well come later in the summer.

The fitness problems which plagued earlier in his career, and deprived England of this type of menacing spell, also appear a thing of the past. Everything is clicking.

As a teetotaller he might not welcome the analogy, but like a fine wine Wood appears to be getting better with age.

More to follow.