2019 ICC World Cup: Not the ideal for Hetmyer, but a learning curve

By Brandon Corlette

All of Guyana had paid keen attention to the goings-on when Shimron Hetmyer came to the batting crease during the West Indies’ International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup campaign. Was it because he was the lone Guyanese in the squad, or did his entertaining batting have something to do with it?

Hetmyer entertained on most occasions, playing sublime shots that held an adoring public in awe, his floppy hat reminding some of the great
Carl Llewellyn Hooper, another Guyanese cricketing great who had so held spectators in awe during his time.
Unfortunately, for most of his innings, Hetmyer did not prosper. Hetmyer did not get a century in his first World Cup outing, but that should not define the ability of this gifted Guyanese talent, who is recognised globally.
In his recent Instagram post, Hetmyer said this was not the World Cup he had been looking forward to, but it’s always a pleasure representing the West Indies. “A lot was learnt, and will be taken back from such an experience,” Hetmyer disclosed.
The proud Berbician left-hander finished his World Cup campaign with 257 runs scored in eight innings at an average of 36.71, with a strike rate of 101.58, including two half-centuries. He finished behind Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope as the leading run-scorer for West Indies. He scored 54 against New Zealand and 50 against Bangladesh in back-to-back matches.
Hetmyer got starts surpassing 20 on six of eight occasions. In his innings of 21 against Australia, he was dismissed via the run-out route. He scored 39 against England, and gifted his wicket away to Joe Root via a soft return catch. He then scored 50 from 26 balls against Bangladesh, and was dismissed in the 40th over via a catch taken at mid-wicket.
It has been shown that Hetmyer favours this spot, but, as a front-line batsman, that innings should have been more, since 10 overs remained in that innings. The next match saw Hetmyer scoring 54 from 45 balls against New Zealand. He was bowled by Lockie Ferguson as he attempted to smash one into oblivion, but the ball sneaked under his bat and castled his stumps.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) player then came up against India, and played shots of which he had no control. He, however, smashed one down point’s throat
during a promising 18.
Against Sri Lanka, Hetmyer was involved in his second run out of the tournament, after scoring only 29 runs. In the final match of his 2019 World Cup, Hetmyer was motoring nicely during his 39 from 31 balls when he lost concentration and went for a full-blooded pull shot and was caught at the familiar mid-wicket region.
Those dismissals were not brilliant showpieces of cricket by Hetmyer’s opponents, but a rush of blood and adrenaline getting the better of him. The lad is only 22 years old, and still has a lot more to learn. Considered “one for the future”, this prognosis is undoubted, but he certainly requires depth in his batting, especially at the highest level.
In his 34 One-Day International matches for the West Indies, Hetmyer has amassed 1156 runs at an average of 39.86, and has a strike rate of 108.23. He has four centuries and four half-centuries to his name, along with five Test half-centuries in his 13 Test matches.
Will county cricket in England aid Hetmyer in his growth overtime? Certainly, this guy is a gifted batsman who has the ability to take games away from opponents.