Kavem Hodge spanks maiden ton to lead Windies response against England

AFTER the hosts England made 416 on day one of the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge, the regional team fought back with the bat on day two on July 19 as they finished the day's play on 351 for five — just 65 runs behind the opposition's first-innings score.

Day one at Trent Bridge belonged to English top-order batsman Ollie Pope, who cracked 121 — his sixth Test century — after being dropped twice in his innings.

On day two, the fortune seemingly transferred to West Indies middle-order batsman Kavem Hodge (120 off 171 balls) who scored his maiden Test after being put down at first slip by Joe Root with his score on 16. Similar to Pope, the busy Hodge made the opposition pay for the missed chance and he pulled his team back into the contest with an exemplary blend of aggression and control — hitting 19 boundaries in his sterling knock.

Led by captain Kraigg Brathwaite, the West Indies started the day brightly. Braithwaite (48 off 72 balls) and Mikyle Louis (21) put on a 53-run opening partnership, before the latter was dismissed after trying an ambitious heave against off-spinner Shoaib Bashir (two for 100).

After suffering disastrous batting collapses in the first Test at Lord's Cricket Ground, the West Indies appeared to be opening the door for the hosts when Brathwaite and Kirk McKenzie (11) were dismissed in quick succession by first-Test hero Gus Atkinson (one for 77) and Bashir.

The West Indies slipped to 84 for three after McKenzie's tame dismissal, but the Dominican pair of Hodge and Alick Athanaze (82 off 99 balls) stopped the slide with a purposeful fourth-wicket stand of 175 — bringing their team right back into the contest.

After being put down in the second session off the luckless Mark Wood, who bowled deliveries in excess of 95 miles per hour, both Hodge and Athanaze brought up their fifties and pushed West Indies' score to 212 for three at tea.

With both batsmen nearing the hundred milestone, a slashing Athanaze was dismissed by England skipper Ben Stokes to leave the Windies on 259 for four.

Playing in only his fourth Test, Hodge soldiered on to bring up his century with a fine drive off Stokes, before being trapped lbw by Chris Woakes (one for 59) to leave the West Indies on 305 for five.

The West Indies were then steered to the close of play by an unbroken 46-run stand between Johsua Da Silva (32 not out off 35 balls) and allrounder Jason Holder (23 off 67 balls), who has had numerous close calls in his anxious stay at the crease thus far.

On day three, the Windies will aim to press on as they hunt a first-innings lead.

Summarised Scores:

ENGLAND: 416 (Ollie Pope 121, Ben Duckett 71, Ben Stokes 69; Alzarri Joseph 3/98, Kavem Hodge 2/44) vs WEST INDIES: 351/5 (K Hodge 120, Alick Athanaze 82, Kraigg Brathwaite 48; Shoaib Bashir 2/100, Chris Woakes 1/59).