Hodge leads WI fightback with first Test century

NOTTINGHAM, England (CMC):

A fabulous maiden Test hundred from Kavem Hodge and his monumental fourth-wicket stand with fellow Dominican Alick Athanaze turned the tide for West Indies and had them trailing hosts England by only 65 in the second Test of the Richards-Botham Trophy Series on Friday.

Hodge took on the English pacers in a wonderful display of courage, and his memorable 120 enabled the Caribbean side to reach 351 for five, replying to the home team’s first-innings total of 416, at the close on the second day of the match at Trent Bridge.

The 31 year-old Windward Islands Volcanoes batsman, playing in only his third Test, reached the milestone from 143 balls when he drove England captain and fast-medium bowler Ben Stokes firmly through mid-off for his 17th four and celebrated with a loud yelp and a leap in the air.

The only blemish came when Hodge, on 16, was dropped at first slip by Joe Root in the second over following the afternoon drinks break from Mark Wood, the England tearaway fast bowler, who also struck Athanaze on the helmet when the left-hander, on 48, misjudged the length and the bounce of a searing delivery.

“It was amazing, and it felt good contributing to the team effort,” Hodge said in a TV interview after play ended. “Coming off the first Test where we did not do so well, it was really important that we put our heads down.

“Obviously, taking some info from the England first innings, it was really important that we made good use of a batting track.”

He added: “[The dressing room] was a difficult place after the first Test but, to be fair, I personally felt that I was too aggressive, and I could have given myself a lot more time. Coming off the practice game, in which I got a hundred, it was important that I took up the responsibility.”

SALVAGE OPERATION

He and Athanaze began a salvage operation for West Indies that started about 15 minutes before lunch when the visitors appeared set to enter their usual downward spiral – but the two Nature Islanders added 175 for the fourth wicket that sucked the sting out of the England attack.

Athanaze, 25, the leading scorer in 2019 ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, made 82, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite supported with 48, Joshua Da Silva was not out on 32, and Jason Holder unbeaten on 23.

It was a powerful response from the Caribbean side to the widespread criticism after their batting horror show in the first Test at Lord’s, where they failed to pass 150 or bat 90 overs in total in their two innings and were beaten inside three days by an innings and 114 runs to trail 1-0 in the three-match series.

“Batting through the tough periods,” Hodge said, pleased him most about this hundred. “The partnership with Alick and I, facing Mark Wood, it’s not every day you face a guy that bowls every single ball over 90 miles an hour.”

Earlier, careless batting in the final hour before lunch undid the application that Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis (21) had put into the first hour of play to come through unscathed.

The two openers endured a testing first hour from the England bowlers, but they absorbed the pressure – including a fiery spell from Wood, whose quickest delivery during the period was clocked at 97.1 miles an hour.

Neither the pitch nor overhead conditions presented any trouble, and the England bowlers simply bowled with discipline and continued to plug away before the two openers were guilty of soft dismissals after putting on 53 for the first wicket.

Louis was caught inside the long-on boundary off lanky off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in the first over when he miscued an ill-advised slog-sweep, and Brathwaite was caught at short leg tamely fending away a short ball from pacer Gus Atkinson.

Kirk McKenzie defied the England bowlers for almost three quarters-of-an-hour for 11, but he then chipped a delivery of no great merit from Bashir to mid-on and was caught about 15 minutes before lunch, which arrived with West Indies 89 for three.

After the interval, Athanaze and Hodge changed the complexion of the match with their defiance, batting through the entire period between lunch and tea.