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 yesterday.
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.
“Coming here and seeing how good the pitch was, it was very important for me to double down and get back into my process.”
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 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, Jason Holder was not out on 23, and opener Mikyle Louis got 21.
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.
“It was really important that we batted through that period because it would have been difficult for a next batsman to come in and try to get started. We had the momentum, so it was really pleasing that we got through that tough period and pushed on further.”
Earlier, careless batting in the final hour before lunch undid the application that Brathwaite and Louis 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.
They got to the half-century mark within close proximity of each other – Athanaze, playing in his fifth Test, got there from 67 balls when he pulled Atkinson through square leg for a deuce, and Hodge arrived from 85 balls when he steered the same bowler through the slips for his eighth four.
Athanaze drove beautifully – mostly through the off-side – that enabled him to collect most of his 10 fours and he slog-swept Bashir confidently for his only six to “cow corner”, while Hodge played a succession of hooks and pulls for most of his 19 fours.
After taking West Indies to 212 for three at tea, Athanaze fell when he was caught at gully off Stokes, driving loosely at a delivery angled across him, and Hodge was lbw to pacer Chris Woakes late in the day, playing back and across.
Holder looked disinterested and survived a period of torment from Wood, which ended when the England fast bowler limped off the field with a leg injury, but Da Silva played with a bit more intent and has so far struck seven fours, and they battled through the last 40 minutes to put on 46 – unbroken – for the sixth wicket to cap a strong riposte from the visitors.
