Kavem Hodge was proud to have emerged with a maiden Test hundred following a “brutal” encounter with Mark Wood at Trent Bridge on Friday after reminding the England fast bowler he had a “wife and kids at home.”
Hodge’s 120 was the centerpiece of the West Indies’ 351-5 at stumps on the second day of the second Test.
The tourists finished day 2 65 runs behind England’s first-innings 416. They were bowled out at lunch on day 3 yesterday, having made 457, a lead of 41. Wood took the final wicket to return figures of 1-71.
Photo: Reuters
It was a far cry from a woeful batting display in an innings and 114-run defeat at Lord’s that left the Windies 1-0 down in the three-match series.
That match marked James Anderson’s farewell to international cricket, with his place in Nottingham taken by express quick Wood.
Wood’s fastest delivery on Friday was timed at 156.2kph and the 34-year-old remained around the 150kph mark for most of the day’s play. Wood also hit Alick Athanaze flush on the helmet on 48, although the left-hander went on to 82 during an impressive fourth-wicket stand of 175 with Hodge.
Photo: Reuters
“There was one point I was joking with him [Wood], I said: ‘Hey, I have a wife and kids at home,’” Hodge said after stumps. “He started to laugh and I think it made the century much more satisfying.”
“Test cricket is brutal, it is challenging, it is mentally draining,” he said. “To experience that, facing guys like Mark Wood, it was tough, but it was satisfying.”
“Some guys got hit, but it’s part of Test cricket,” the 31-year-old added. “Kudos to Alick. He bounced back and was able to stand his ground and push on even further. I flinched, I thought I was going to get hit before that.”
The grind of bowling so quickly on a good batting pitch eventually took its toll on Wood, whose career has been blighted by injuries.
He left the field before Friday’s close with suspected cramp following a wicketless return of 0-51 in 14.1 overs that was no reward for a determined and skillful display.
“Surprisingly, he said he’s never had cramp before. I’m hoping it’s just a bit of fatigue,” England assistant coach Paul Collingwood said. “He certainly was stretching his hamstring, so I presume it’s in there somewhere. It’s been a hot day, he’s put all his effort into every ball, but he had a smile on his face at the end.”
“Everyone watching Woody throw himself 100 percent at every single spell was exceptional and getting up to speeds of 97 miles per hour [156kph] is everything you want to see in Test cricket.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS