NOTTINGHAM, England, CMC – In a theme common to his rise to the international stage, West Indies batsman Kavem Hodge said he was glad he stuck out the tough times during his maiden Test hundred against hosts England to breathe some life into the Richards-Botham Trophy Series heading into third day of the second Test.
The 31-year-old Dominican, dropped on 16, made 120 in his only his fourth Test, and the Caribbean side were 351 for five, in reply to the English first innings total of 416 at the close on the second day at Trent Bridge – a deficit of 65.
Hodge and fellow Dominican Alick Athanaze took advantage of good batting conditions and shared 175 for the fourth wicket to wear England down after West Indies wobbled to 84 for three a little before lunch.
“It’s a dream come true, you play the game from a youngster growing up that’s something that you want to do, especially at the highest level, in England against England,” Hodge told reporters after the day’s play.
“I’m really happy and satisfied about it, especially also the position of the team, it’s always good to help the team’s cause.”
Hodge credited the visitors for coming through the “tough periods”, including spells from England tearaway fast bowler Mark Wood, whose quickest delivery was clocked at 97.1 miles an hour, and consistently bowled around 93 miles an hour for most of the day.
“It was brutal,” Hodge said. “It’s not every day you rock up and you face someone that’s bowling more than 90 miles an hour every single ball.
“There was one point, I made a joke to him, I said: ‘Hey, I have a wife and kids at home’. But I think that made the century a lot more satisfying.
Test cricket is brutal, it’s challenging, it’s mentally draining. To experience that, facing guys like Mark Wood, it was tough, but it was satisfying.”
Hodge showed plenty of courage against Wood and the rest of the England pace attack during their first day in the field since the international retirement of the evergreen Jimmy Anderson, and he gathered several of his 19 boundaries with hooks and pulls.
Athanaze too, also put up a brave front, especially after he was struck on the helmet, on 48, and the left-hander carried on and hit a career-best 82.
“I flinched,” Hodge said about Athanaze being struck. “I thought I was going to get hit before him (Athanaze), but it didn’t happen like that. But kudos to him that he bounced back well and was able to stand his ground and push on further. “We always bat good together, we play for the same franchise back home, so we’ve had a lot of big partnerships. He’s more aggressive than I am. I’m more of an accumulator, so I tend to go under the radar and go about my business quietly. It’s always good to spend time at the wicket with him.”
Hodge sealed his century when he firmly drove a delivery from England captain and fast medium bowler Ben Stokes through mid-off for four and erupted in celebration at his achievement with batting partner at the time, Jason Holder.
“It was amazing,” Hodge said in a post-play TV interview. “I think from 97 I blanked out… I was just trying my best to stay in the moment, and he bowled a big, booming in-swinger and everything was just a blur, everything just happened in the moment. I told Jason I was still pinching myself after the celebration, I hadn’t grasped it yet.”
Hodge made his Test debut on the Tour of Australia this past January, and he readily admitted there were times he felt his chance to play the format may never come, but he stuck to the task.
“There were times when you start to doubt yourself, when you weren’t getting the opportunity,” he said.
“There were times when to make the Test team, because of COVID-19, we had something called the Best vs Best, when they would bring the guys in and then split the squad into two and have warm-up games to select the team.
He said: “I think I had taken part in that six or seven times and every time a selector or the coach would come to me and say, ‘We’re not going to select you, we’re looking in this direction’.
“So every time I went to a Best vs Best, it took a little bit out of me, but I’m grateful that I stuck with it and things are working out, so I’m happy for that.”
Hodge was dismissed lbw to pacer Chris Woakes, and Joshua Da Silva, not out on 32, and Jason Holder, not out on 23, battled through the last 40 minutes to put on 46 – unbroken – for the sixth wicket to cap a strong riposte from the visitors.
