NOTTINGHAM, England – A outstanding maiden Take a look at century from Kavem Hodge, coupled with a monumental fourth-wicket partnership with fellow Dominican Alick Athanaze, turned the tide for the West Indies within the second Test of the Richards-Botham Trophy Series on Friday.
Hodge’s magnificent 120-run knock helped the Caribbean facet shut the second day at 351 for 5, trailing hosts England by solely 65 runs at Trent Bridge.
Hodge, displaying immense braveness in opposition to the English pacers, reached his milestone from 143 balls, driving England captain Ben Stokes by mid-off for his seventeenth boundary. The 31-year-old Windward Islands Volcanoes batsman, taking part in in solely his third Take a look at, celebrated his achievement with a loud yelp and a leap within the air. His solely blemish got here when he was dropped on 16 by Joe Root at first slip off a supply from Mark Wooden, who additionally struck Athanaze on the helmet with a searing supply when the left-hander was on 48.
“It was superb, and it felt good contributing to the group effort,” Hodge stated in a TV interview after play ended. “Coming off the primary Take a look at the place we didn’t accomplish that effectively, it was actually necessary that we put our heads down. Clearly, taking some data from the England first innings, it was actually necessary that we made good use of a batting monitor.”
A troublesome place after the primary Take a look at
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He added: “[The dressing room] was a troublesome place after the primary Take a look at however, to be truthful, I personally felt that I used to be too aggressive, and I might have given myself much more time. Coming off the observe recreation, by which I received 100, it was necessary that I took up the accountability.”
Hodge and Athanaze initiated a salvage operation for the West Indies, including 175 runs for the fourth wicket and neutralizing the England assault. Athanaze, 25, the main scorer within the 2019 ICC Males’s Underneath-19 Cricket World Cup, made a strong 82, whereas West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite supported with 48. Joshua Da Silva remained not out on 32, and Jason Holder was unbeaten on 23.
This sturdy response from the West Indies got here after widespread criticism following their batting collapse within the first Take a look at at Lord’s, the place they did not surpass 150 runs or bat 90 overs in complete of their two innings and have been defeated inside three days by an innings and 114 runs.
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Careless batting within the closing hour earlier than lunch
“Batting by the powerful durations happy me most about this hundred,” Hodge stated. “The partnership with Alick and I, dealing with Mark Wooden, it’s not every single day you face a man that bowls each single ball over 90 miles an hour.”
Earlier, careless batting within the closing hour earlier than lunch undid the applying proven by Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis (21) within the first hour of play. The 2 openers endured a testing spell from the England bowlers, together with a fiery stint from Wooden, who clocked his quickest supply at 97.1 miles an hour. Nonetheless, they have been responsible of soppy dismissals after placing on 53 for the primary wicket. Louis was caught at long-on off Shoaib Bashir after a miscued slog-sweep, and Brathwaite was caught at quick leg off a brief ball from Gus Atkinson.
Kirk McKenzie defied the England bowlers for almost 45 minutes for his 11 runs earlier than being caught at mid-on off a supply from Bashir. The West Indies went to lunch at 89 for 3, however the session after the interval noticed Athanaze and Hodge change the match’s complexion with their resolute batting.
Their efforts have positioned the West Indies in a aggressive place, setting the stage for an thrilling continuation of the Take a look at match.
