West Indies: Kavem Hodge and Alick Athanaze gave a strong start to West Indies in the second day of the 2nd test match against England with their century and half-century respectively.
Kavem Hodge who hailed from Dominica scored his maiden Test century against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Friday. He slammed 120 runs off 171 balls with 19 fours, providing unbeatable momentum to West Indies after lunch.
He was efficiently supported by another Dominican Alick Athanaze who played an inning o 82 runs with 10 fours and a six. However, his wicket was taken by England captain Ben Stokes, making him miss his first test century.
The partnership between the two players took the score at 212 with the loss of three wickets and both played an inning of 175 runs. Further, Hodeg was supported by Jason Holder as they put on 46 run partnership for the fifth wicket of the former which was taken by Chris Woakes.
The opening of West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Mike Louis gave a positive start to the team as England closed the first day of the test match at 416 runs. With the partnership of 53 runs, the opening wickets has somehow put Windies into back foot, but Hodge came with great show.
At the end, the partnership of Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva played an aggressive knock and added 46 runs. Further, West Indies ended the second day of the test match with 351 runs for the loss of five wickets.
Notably, West Indies scored 351 runs for five wickets in 84 overs and trailed England as they scored 416 runs in 88.3 overs with all wickets down.
Kavem Hodge and Alick Athanaze have been lauded by their hometown as Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit shared congratulatory post on the social media.
He added,” Dominica is immensely proud of Kavem Hodge’s remarkable achievement in scoring his maiden Test century during the 2nd Test match against England. His performance stands as a phenomenal example of perseverance and dedication.”
On behalf of the Government and the people of Dominica, he extended the most heartfelt congratulations to him.
About Alick Athanaze, he also greeted him for scoring half century scores in the 2nd test match against England.
Kavem Hodge also expressed pleasure and termed it a special moment as it put the team in a good position. He said,” It is always satisfying when you have to work hard for it, it was tough, we did’nt give many wickets, so it was so good.”
Athanaze added, ”I tried my best to lead whenever we’re out there because I want everybody to be nice and calm, I want him to be relaxed and do good work.”
Notably, the second test match will run through July 22, 2024 as it was started on July 18, 2024. The first test match of the series was won by England which was held at Lord’s.
The third and last match will be held from July 26 to 30 at Edgbaston. West Indies visited England for the test series tour and also met with King Charles at Buckingham Palace. Now, the team will again play the game for the third day today.
