'It was brutal and not every day you rock up and face someone' - Kavem Hodge shares his experience of facing Mark Wood

West Indies all-rounder Kavem Hodge scored his maiden Test century during the second Test match against England at Trent Bridge and faced a fierce bowling attack led by Mark Wood. The Test match saw Wood unleash a bombardment of lightning-fast deliveries, creating a memorable battle between bat and ball.

Following a crushing defeat in the first Test at Lord's, the visitors faced immense pressure to prove themselves on English soil. Hodge, playing his fourth Test match at the age of 31, rose to the occasion with a stellar performance that put West Indies back in the game.  

"It's a dream come true, you play the game from a youngster growing up 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," Hodge said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. 

Wood returned to the England lineup in place of the recently retired James Anderson. The right arm quick immediately made his presence felt, bowling the fastest recorded Test over by an England bowler on home soil. His first over averaged a blistering 94.40 miles per hour, with one delivery clocking in at a staggering 96.5 mph (155.30 km/h).

Also read: Mark Wood bowls fastest Test over by England bowler at home

Facing guys like Mark Wood, it was tough but it was satisfying: Kavem Hodge

The onslaught continued in Wood's second over, where he reached even greater speeds, topping out at 97.1 mph (156.26 km/h). This relentless pace attack created a challenging environment for the West Indian batters, particularly Hodge. The all-rounder described his experience.

"It 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," he added.

Also read: Kavem Hodge’s century scripts comeback for West Indies against England on Day 2

Despite the pressure, Hodge not only withstood the pace but thrived under it. Hodge's innings of 120 runs off 171 deliveries formed a crucial 175-run partnership with Alick Athanaze and guided West Indies to a strong position of 351 for 5 at the close of play. Hodge's century was a personal triumph as well as a team victory. 

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