The Great West Indian Hope - Will it last? Tests not dead in Windies; we have fight, belief: Hope
PROMISING SHOW Early setbacks no dampener as Shai Hope shows mettle where it matters most, away from home
There are a few knocks in every cricketer’s career which define their grit and calibre to perform under pressure. For Shai Hope, the 23-year-old from Barbados, it has to be the second Test of the ongoing series against England.
With 11 caps in the longest format of the game and a single halfcentury to show for in them, there really shouldn’t have been too much to hope for.
Yet, he held on. His batting average, a shoddy 18.61, shot up to 29.81 by the end of the Test, and his side has achieved something they haven’t in the past 17 years — win a Test in England. The hosts didn’t play poorly. It was just that hope had triumphed over expectation at Headingley.
After being selected for England’s tour of the Caribbean in 2015, Hope failed to make it to the playing XI in the first two Tests. In the third, Hope had scores of 5 and 9. A month later, Hope could only add 80 runs in two Tests against Australia.
For a cricketer who received his Test cap from the legendary Clive Llyod, living up to that honour seemed to get a bit difficult. The youngster however held on. With the board marred with internal conflicts and senior players refusing to bow to the administration’s diktat, chances kept knocking on the door.
Everyone knew Hope had potential. All he had to do was to prove his worth in the bigger stages. Hope earned his ODI cap in 2016 and in the very second game, smashed a cracking ton against Zimbabwe away from home. Although it would take him another eight knocks before getting to the half-century mark, it provided him with a bit of a breathing space. In the Test format, however, he played just two Tests in 2016, scoring 9, 11 and 41 in the three innings.
It was in 2017 when he finally scored his first double hundred in first-class cricket. That, perhaps, was a sign of better things to come. After starting the year with scored of 2, 6 and 5 against Pakistan, he scored 90 in the second innings of the third Test, helping his side register a 106run victory over the Asian giants.
That, consolidated his spot in the Test format as well. Hope’s 436 runs in 12 ODI innings also helped his cause to finally get the monkey off the back.
West Indies are possibly in their worst shape ever, a tragic fall that saw their tag go from being ‘all conquering’ to ‘minnows’. And yet, if there’s still hope and a belief that all is not over, the responsibility surely rests on the shoulders of young cricketers like Hope who’ve clung on to get what they deserved.
Shai Hope became a symbol of hope for the future of West Indian Tests after his landmark twin hundreds at Headingley steered the Caribbean side to an astonishing five-wicket victory over England on Tuesday.
“Someone had to do it, so I just put my hand up and did it for the team,” he said. “I’m just pleased to get the win. We’re Test cricketers for a reason. We have the fight, belief and players to do it. I hope people back home will be happy,” Hope told the BBC.
Hope, whose average of 18 over his previous 11 Tests had never reflected his potential, said he trusted the win would be a stepping stone towards a brighter future for the team.
Hope, 23, was named man-ofthe-match after his unbeaten match-winning 118 followed a maiden Test ton of 147 in the first innings as West Indies levelled the series at 1-1.
Along with fellow Bajan Kraigg Brathwaite’s fine batting - he added 95 to his first-innings century - and the evident reawakened spirit in the team, this was an emphatic answer to Windies greats like paceman Curtly Ambrose who had called their Edgbaston performance “pathetic”.
“After the kicking we got at Edgbaston, to get the boys back up and looking forward and then to achieve what they’ve done in the last five days was huge. I’m very proud of them,” West Indies coach Stuart Law told Sky Sports.
“It’s put a lot of doubters out there to bed. It takes a lot of character to come out after the beating we got.”
Of Hope’s display, which was studded with steel as well as elegance, he added: “I’m really proud of him. He’s been going through a form dip but, hopefully, the pretty 20s are gone and the pretty 120s are here to stay.
“It’s just a matter of belief. When he came out today he just looked in total control.”
England captain Joe Root, who bemoaned a day of dropped catches, described Hope’s knock as “exceptional”.
“It’s credit to them for the way they came back after last week,” he said.
HOPE’S 436 RUNS IN 12 ODI INNINGS ALSO HELPED HIS CAUSE TO FINALLY GET THE MONKEY OFF THE BACK Someone had to do it, so I just put my hand up and did it for the team. We’re Test cricketers for a reason. We have the fight, belief and players to do it.