Hodge, Athanaze leave England thunderstruck as Wood shoots to thrill
West Indies command the centre stage on hard-rocking day at Trent Bridge
Valkerie Baynes19-Jul-2024In AC/DC’s iconic hit , chants of “Thunder” burst through the opening thrum, building the excitement before that unmistakeable high-pitched lead vocal kicks in.On the most picture-perfect day for cricket at Trent Bridge, Mark Wood interrupted the gentle murmur of the first nine overs, in which West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis had eased their side to 32 for nought, with a barrage of fire that had the batters rocking and the packed stands audibly in awe.Four overs in which his speed never dipped below 92mph went unrewarded – as did Wood all day – but what a curtain-raiser it was to the main performance of the day, Kavem Hodge’s maiden international century. Had Hodge screamed “I was caught… In the middle of a railroad track” as he punched a Ben Stokes inswinger for four through long-off to bring up his ton, it wouldn’t have sounded out of place, such was the tone as he screeched in sheer joy.By the end of the day he had fallen for 120, lbw to Chris Woakes in a decision upheld on umpire’s call during the evening session.By the end of the day, England and their supporters were willing Wood to take a wicket, just one, feeling he deserved it for all his gut-busting effort through his first 14 overs. Instead, he left the field one ball into his 15th, seemingly as a precaution after feeling his hamstring, some 35 minutes before the close.Hodge formed half of a hugely exciting partnership alongside Alick Athanaze, worth 175 for the fourth wicket, with Athanaze falling for 82, also in the evening session, but not before playing his part in driving West Indies to within 65 runs of England’s first-innings 416. Between them, they have only played 10 Tests, but they played defiantly to put their side in a much better place after an innings defeat in the first Test at Lord’s.Hodge should have been gone for 16 – to Wood, no less – but Joe Root put down the catch at slip. He and Athanaze both went to tea with half-centuries to their name, having added 123 runs while England went wicketless in the middle session.Athanaze’s ears would have been ringing when, on 48, he was struck flush on the helmet, right next to the badge, by a Wood short ball at 91mph. Hodge’s reaction at the other end was a mirror image of his batting partner’s as he reeled back in shock. Wood was first to ask, “are you ok?” and England’s fielders also approached to check on him before the medics arrived to conduct official tests. But he was passed fit to continue and reached his maiden Test fifty just two balls later, with a nudge off the hip for two in Gus Atkinson’s next over.Athanaze went on to unfurl some lovely cover drives, and his slog-sweep for six over midwicket off Shoaib Bashir in the penultimate over before tea was glorious. Ben Stokes, however, prised him out with a century looming in the evening session, as he chased a wider delivery on 82 and sliced to Harry Brook at gully.Mark Wood blew up the speed-gun in his 14.1 overs but went unrewarded•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesAlthough the rest of his evening’s stay would prove to be a bit of an ordeal, Jason Holder got his runs flowing immediately, guiding his first ball for four through the slips cordon and, two balls later, clearing cover where the diminutive figure of Ben Duckett leapt somewhat belatedly and in vain as the ball sailed over his reaching hands and to the boundary.Wood returned to the attack and beat Hodge’s outside edge with a fantastic outswinging yorker on 92, before giving in to a wry grin when the last ball of the same over swung away again for another near-miss. Hodge forged on, past his century – reached with that punchy drive off Stokes – and put on 46 runs with Holder before he departed.Stokes took the second new ball with just one over left in the day. He handed it to Atkinson, who conceded five, Joshua Da Silva pulling four through midwicket to finish the day not out 32 with Holder on 23.Brathwaite and Louis weathered Wood’s earlier onslaught and after the first hour, West Indies were 48 without loss.But wickets to Bashir and Atkinson had them 89 for 3 at lunch with the innings of Athanaze and Hodge in their infancy.Wood came on in the 10th over and managed to produce some swing, which had been non-existent to that point on Friday. But it was his unbridled pace that had everyone transfixed as he twice nudged the 96mph mark and hit 95 twice more in the over.Wood’s second over was equally rapid, clocked at 94mph five times and 95 once, with testing lines as he twice beat Brathwaite’s outside edge.The Trent Bridge crowd gasped in unison as the scoreboard flashed up the speed of Wood’s fifth delivery in his third over – a staggering 97.1mph. That was understandably a maiden and after three overs, his figures read 3-1-5-0.Brathwaite managed to find the boundary, guiding the ball fine off his ribs, in Wood’s fourth over, which still contained some lightning speed.It was Bashir who made the breakthrough in the 15th over, shortly after the drinks break, as Brook took a nerveless catch running a long way to his right from mid-on to remove Louis for 21. It was Bashir’s first Test wicket from two matches at home after not bowling in the first game of this series.Related
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Bashir could have had his second in his next over when he rapped Kirk McKenzie – on nought at the time – on the pad and appealed but the umpire was unmoved, as were England who didn’t seem interested in deferring to the DRS, although replays later showed the ball would have hit the top of leg stump.Atkinson returned for his second spell to replace Wood and he soon removed Brathwaite for 48 trying to turn a short, straight delivery down the leg side but looping it off the shoulder of the bat straight to Ollie Pope at short leg.Bashir did take his second wicket shortly before lunch, McKenzie serving up a simple catch to Stokes at mid-on.But, hours later, you couldn’t help feeling that it was England who trudged off just a little bit Thunderstruck.