Test cricket is brutal, challenging and mentally draining: Hodge

Kavem Hodge walked out to bat at the worst possible time on day two of the second Test against England. With skipper Kraigg Brathwaite just sent back to the hut after an elaborate short-ball plan, Hodge was out there to face the chin music, with Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson bowling thunderbolts. 

That’s what got the best out of Hodge, with the West Indian scoring his maiden Test century, a 171-ball 120 that helped the Windies inch closer towards England’s mammoth total of 416. During his stay at the crease, Hodge had to battle out Wood, with 24 of Wood’s 29 deliveries against him either short of the back-of-a-length region. 

Also Read: Kavem Hodge’s back foot strokeplay defies England on Day 2

Hodge did not just contend with the deliveries but also attacked them, with a strike rate of 114.3 when they were in the back-of-a-length region. At one point during the spell, Wood cranked up the pace up to 156 kmph, making it even harder for the West Indian batter. 

"It [Wood’s spell] 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,” Hodge said after the day’s play. 

"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."

While his partner Alick Athanaze was struck by a bumper, it didn’t affect his stroke play as the left-hander was at his fluent best, scoring a 99-ball 82, with the duo stitching up a vital partnership to save the Windies. 

"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. 

Hodge only made his Test debut this year against Australia at the age of 30. While he previously represented the Men in Maroon in limited-overs cricket, an opportunity to don the whites almost seemed to slip away before the call-up for the Australia series. 

It took the right-hander 11 years and 2775 runs to convince the selectors that he deserved to play Test cricket. But once he got there, it took him just six months to score his maiden Test century. 

"There were times when you start to doubt yourself, when you weren't getting the opportunity," he said.

"There were times when to make the Test team, because of Covid, we had something called the best vs best, when they would bring the guys in and then split the squad into two and have warm-up games to select the team. I think I've taken part in that six or seven times and every time a selector or the coach would come to me and say 'We're not going to select you, we're looking in this direction',” he concluded.

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