Ton-up Hodge leads West Indies’ fightback with bat against England

Kavem Hodge scored his maiden Test hundred as West Indies made life tough for England in Nottingham on Friday during their first day in the field since James Anderson’s international retirement.

West Indies were 351-5 in reply to England’s first-innings 416 at stumps on the second day of the second Test at Trent Bridge, a deficit of 65 runs.

Kavem Hodge, dropped on 16, made 120 in what was just the 31-year-old’s seventh innings at this level.

He shared a partnership of 175 with fellow Windward Islands batsman Alick Athanaze (82), who fell in sight of what would have been his first Test century after the fourth-wicket duo, showing the kind of skill and determination many pundits feared the West Indies were lacking, batted throughout the whole of the second session.

The pair came together shortly before lunch with West Indies in trouble at 84-3 despite a good pitch and sunny skies, allied to a lightning-quick outfield, meaning conditions were in favour of the batters.

It was the type of situation in which England would have called upon veteran paceman Anderson for much of the past 21 years.

But the 41-year-old had bowed out of Test cricket with 704 wickets — the most by any fast bowler — after England’s crushing innings and 114-run thrashing of the West Indies in the series opener at Lord’s, with team chiefs looking to refresh the side ahead of the 2025/26 Ashes in Australia.

This is also England’s first home Test since 2012 without either Anderson or his longtime new-ball partner Stuart Broad, who retired after last year’s Ashes.

Between them, the pair took 1,308 Test wickets and their absence was always bound to create a gap despite Anderson’s new role as England’s fast-bowling mentor.

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Instead, it was Chris Woakes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson, fresh from a stunning 12-wicket haul on Test debut at Lord’s as England went 1-0 up in a three-match series, who shared the new ball on Friday.

England captain Ben Stokes’s decision to bring on off-spinner Shoaib Bashir rather than himself as second change was soon rewarded with Mikyle Louis and Kirk McKenzie both out to rash shots as the 20-year-old took his first Test wickets on home soil.

In between, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite fell for 48 when the opener fended a rising Atkinson delivery straight to Ollie Pope at short leg.

But just as England had benefitted from several dropped catches on Thursday, with Pope missed twice on his way to 121, so too was Hodge given a reprieve when he edged express quick Mark Wood — recalled in place of Anderson — to first slip, only for Joe Root to floor a regulation two-handed chance.

Athanaze had made 48 when he was struck flush on the helmet by a rapid Wood bouncer.

But he recovered to complete a maiden Test fifty, with Hodge — whose previous highest Test score was the 71 he made during the West Indies’ thrilling eight-run win over Australia in Brisbane in January — following suit.

But the pair were eventually separated when Stokes, who didn’t come on until the 50th over, had Athanaze slapping a wide ball to Harry Brook at gully to end a 99-ball stay including 10 fours and a six.

Kavem Hodge, however, pulled Stokes for four to go to 97 before driving the all-rounder straight down the ground for a 17th boundary in 143 balls faced to complete his century, with the diminutive batsman joyfully leaping into the arms of towering non-striker Jason Holder.

He eventually fell lbw to Woakes, the dismissal upheld on review by the umpire’s call.

But at 305-5, the West Indies had already made far more than the 257 runs combined they managed in two innings at Lord’s.

Woakes finished the day with 1-59 from 18 overs but Wood, who repeatedly both topped speeds of 93 mph (150 km/h) and beat the outside edge, had no reward in a return of 0-51 in 14.1 overs before pulling up and leaving the field.

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