West Indies batter Kavem Hodge admitted his century in the second Test against England at Trent Bridge was made “much more satisfying” by withstanding a “brutal” spell of fast-bowling from Mark Wood.
Hodge cracked 120 on Day 2 in Nottingham as the tourists finished on 351-5 at stumps, just 65 runs behind England's first innings total of 416 and very much in the game.
What made Hodge's knock even more impressive was the fact he came up against the fastest spell of bowling by an England player on home soil since detailed records began in 2006, overtaking Wood's own mark at Lord's in 2021 and Headingley during last summer's Ashes.
During a four-over spell, he clocked 97.1mph while the 34-year-old paceman remained around the 93mph 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 a crucial fourth-wicket stand of 175 with Hodge.
“There was one point I was joking with him [Wood], I said 'hey, I have a wife and kids at home!',” said Hodge 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. 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. 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.
“Batting with Alick is always good because he is so aggressive. The attention goes away from me and I can bat under the radar.”
It was a vastly-improved batting performance from the West Indies who were bowled out for just 121 and 136 in the 114-run first test thrashing at Lord's which also saw record wicket-taker James Anderson's final appearance for England. Jason Holder (23) and Joshua Da Silva (32) finished the day unbeaten with the host's total very much in sight.
“It's been an amazing day,” added Hodge. “You always want to contribute, it was really good for the guys coming off Lord's, coming back as a batting unit it's always sweeter from behind.
“We're in a good position, I think we want to keep grinding on, take it as deep as possible.”
Wood was called into the team as a replacement for Anderson but 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 skilful display.
“Surprisingly, he said he's never had cramp before. I'm hoping it's just a bit of fatigue,” said England assistant coach Paul Collingwood.
“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.
“Woody is always a little bit wary of injuries and niggles, so I think he’ll be fine. If he was worried it’s something serious he’d be pretty distraught but he seems pretty chipper.
“Everyone watching Woody throw himself 100 per cent at every single spell was exceptional and getting up to speeds of 97mph is everything you want to see in Test cricket.”
This is England's first home Test since 2012 without either Anderson or his longtime new-ball partner Stuart Broad, who retired after last year's Ashes. Between them, the pair took 1,308 Test wickets.
Instead, Chris Woakes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson, fresh from a 12-wicket haul on Test debut at Lord's shared the new ball on Friday with the opening pair finishing the day with figures of 1-59 and 1-77, respectively.
Captain ben Stokes also chipped in with a wicket while Shoaib Bashir took 2-100 with both Mikyle Louis (21) and Kirk McKenzie (11) out to rash shots as the 20-year-old off-spinner took his first Test wickets on home soil.
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
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Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
