Tough but satisfying – Hodge after maiden Test ton

West Indies fought back in the second Test against England on the back of a ton from middle-order batter Kavem Hodge, who also put on a 175-run stand with Alick Athanaze. The duo led West Indies’ strong reply to England’s 416 in the first innings setting up the rest of the Test match.

Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite had called for an improved batting performance and the duo of Hodge and Athanaze answered it. “We always bat good together, play for the same franchise back home, 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. Always good to spend time with him at the wicket,” said Hodge at the end of the day while reflecting on the partnership.

Hodge, playing his fourth Test match, got a maiden Test hundred and was left elated. “It’s a dream come true, you play the game as a youngster, that’s something that you want to do, especially at the highest level – in England against England. 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.”

The highlight of the innings was his battle against a rampaging Mark Wood who fired bouncers at will at high pace. At one point it also struck Athanaze on the back of the helmet leaving Hodge concerned. “”I flinched. I thought I was going to get hit before him 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.”

At the end of the day, Hodge could afford to smile while looking back and even shared a joke that he had cracked to Wood in the midst of the spell which ultimately made the hundred all the more ‘satisfying’.

“It was brutal. It’s not every day you rock up and you face someone that’s bowling more than 90mph 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.”