England may have struggled in the heat at Nottingham, but they appear to have avoided the nightmare scenario of a serious injury to their most dangerous bowler, Mark Wood, an issue that forces the 34-year-old to play Left the field after 15 pitches.
“It’s surprising given some of the conditions in which he’s played around the world,” England assistant coach Paul Collingwood said. “I was hoping it was just a little bit tired. It was a hot day and he gave every ball his full effort. I couldn’t believe it when he got off: ‘I’ve never had cramps so I’m not really sure about that What is it. ” He had a smile on his face – I imagine if he had been worried about something serious he would be very distraught, but he seemed in good spirits.
West Indies ended the second day with 351 for five, 65 runs behind, with Kavem Hodge scoring 120 and fellow Dominican Alick Athanaze ) scored 82 runs as England’s hopes of a second straight win after the first Test at Lord’s last week were dashed.
“We didn’t expect to fight them off again, we knew they were going to fight back,” Collingwood said. “You have to go through periods where you have to make different plans. We threw everything at them. Everybody watched Woody put 100 percent into every spell, and it was awesome to hit 97 mph. Pace is everything you want to see in Test cricket and I thought they did a really good job on the counter-attack.
Wood’s first three games were England’s fastest ever since 2006, and his fast bowling performance was almost as notable as the fact that he didn’t take any wickets – he came close on multiple occasions, especially when Hodge slipped at 16.
“It’s not every day that you can pick yourself up and face a guy who’s throwing every ball 90 mph,” Hodge said. “We had a joke one time and I said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a wife and kids at home!’ It’s nice to actually experience that and it makes this century that much more satisfying. Test cricket is brutal and challenging. Sexual, very draining. It was tough but satisfying to face a player like Mark Wood.
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It was Hodge’s first Test century in the fourth match, having made his debut in Australia earlier this year. At 31, he took a circuitous path, earning a degree in kinesiology — “basically a fancy word for exercise science” — along the way. “This is a dream come true,” he said. “You know from a young age this is what you want to do, especially playing England against England. I’m really happy with it, especially where the team is.
