BECKENHAM, England, CMC – Kavem Hodge helped the West Indies Check squad make a assured begin to their Tour of England with a purposeful hundred towards a First-Class Counties Choose XI on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old Dominican slammed 112, and three others gathered half-centuries earlier than the Caribbean aspect was dismissed for 339 of their first innings after they gained the toss and determined to bat on a cold first day of a three-day match on the Kent County Cricket Floor.
Alick Athanaze and fellow left-hander Kirk McKenzie – each on their first Check tour to England like Hodge – and lanky opener Mikyle Louis – on the primary Check tour of his profession – supported with contrasting half-centuries to get the guests off to a powerful begin.
The FCC Choose XI have been 15 with out loss on the shut with their captain, Ben McKinney, not out on 11, and fellow opener Harry Singh, not out on two.
Earlier, Hodge virtually assured himself a spot within the aspect to play towards England within the first Check, beginning at Lord’s this coming Wednesday, when he led the West Indies batting with a three-hour innings that included 14 fours and two sixes from 128 balls.
“It was fairly good however chilly,” Hodge instructed reporters after play. “I loved it as a result of it’s my first time taking part in in England, and it’s all the time good popping out right here, no matter whether or not it’s your first time, and make a great impression and profit from the chance, so it was good to spend a while within the center.
“It’s simply getting accustomed to the situations as a result of it’s a lot colder than the Caribbean, and the ball swings rather more. When the ball hits you, it stings so much. We have been fortunate sufficient to return per week earlier than the primary Check, so it’s only a matter of taking within the setting, having fun with one another’s firm, and dealing exhausting to attain our targets.
Hodge added that taking part in at Lord’s can be a thrill if given the possibility.
“It’s all the time a dream to play that at Lord’s,” he mentioned. “One thing rising up as a child that you simply sit and dream about, you watch quite a lot of cricket at Lord’s. It’s one thing I’m trying ahead to – getting the chance to sit down and watch the sport, taking part in there with the gang, the status, the house of cricket, it’s one thing that each cricketer aspires to do.”
He reached his hundred from 119 balls when he charged down the pitch to off-spinner Farhan Ahmed, youthful brother of teenaged England leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, and lofted a supply over long-on for his second six.
Athanaze supported with 74, McKenzie made 73, and Louis outfitted himself properly with an excellent 50. In between, the Caribbean aspect misplaced the opening pair of their captain Kraigg Brathwaite and fellow Barbadian Zachary McCaskie cheaply, and the underside half of the batting crumbled.
Ahmed ended with 4 for 48 from 12 overs, and South Africa-born pacer John Turner completed with 4 for 60 from 12.1 overs.
West Indies began the match with out left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie and fellow Guyanese Shamar Joseph as a result of their flight out of Georgetown was canceled attributable to Hurricane Beryl’s passage.
Media stories indicated that Motie arrived on Wednesday and quick bowler Joseph is scheduled to reach on Friday.
The guests have been reeling on 10 for 2 inside the primary quarter-hour of play after McCaskie was caught behind left-arm pacer John Hull for 2, and Brathwaite was caught at third slip off Turner for 4.
West Indies reached lunch on 116 for 3 after Louis shared a 106-run stand with McKenzie for the third wicket, however he was caught at first slip off Turner with the ultimate supply earlier than the interval.
The 23-year-old Kittitian opener, the main scorer within the West Indies Championship earlier this yr, cracked six fours and two sixes from 63 balls in an hour-and-a-half on the crease.
He had clipped off-spinner Bertie Foreman via mid-wicket for a single within the earlier over to succeed in his 50 from 62 balls and convey up the 100 partnership.
McKenzie, not out on 51 at lunch, additionally reached his 50 earlier than lunch when he lower his 58th ball via level off Foreman, however he fell within the seventh over after the interval when he was caught at mid-on off the identical bowler. He hit 11 fours and two sixes from 85 balls in virtually two hours of batting.
Hodge joined fellow Dominican Athanaze on the crease, and runs flowed freely for West Indies, they usually reached 271 for 4 at tea after the 2 compatriots bedded all the way down to set the muse for a 138-run, fifth wicket stand.
Each reached their half-century earlier than the break when Athanaze pulled his 71st ball from pacer Eddie Jack via mid-wicket for his sixth 4, and Hodge performed his 63rd ball from Sonny Baker to mid-on for a fast single.
After the break, Athanaze failed so as to add to his last rating, and Ahmed obtained him caught contained in the positive leg boundary from a top-edged sweep. He struck eight fours and two sixes from 105 balls in about 2 1/2 hours of batting.
After his dismissal, Hodge obtained little help from the remainder of the batting, and West Indies misplaced their 5 wickets for 40 within the span of 51 balls, together with Hodge, whose dismissal, caught at deep mid-wicket off Turner, introduced the innings to a detailed.
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