The West Indies white-ball captain Shai Hope slammed his fourth T20 century, this time in new territory, playing in the South Africa T20 League and opening the batting for Pretoria Capitals.
Hope seems at home with his Caribbean counterparts, Roston Chase and Sherfane Rutherford, playing in the same team.
Hope slammed an unbeaten 119, an innings laced with nine fours and nine sixes. With the T20 World Cup looming, Hope is aiming to extend his purple patch from 2025 into this new year.
“We won, so I enjoyed it a lot more. Coming to SA for the first time, playing in these conditions might be foreign to me, but it’s good to contribute. Had fun today. That’s a tough one because I want to put my hand up for the team. But we all know when there are only two fielders out, it’s good to maximise. So, if I had to choose, I’d say opening the batting is very important to understanding your strengths,” Hope said.
The Barbadian class act said adaptability is key for his success in South Africa, a place where he is playing cricket for the first time in his career.
“Adaptability is a big thing for me. It’s about trying to limit dot balls. Pace off the surface would grip a bit more sometimes, hold sometimes, and bounce a bit more sometimes,” Hope explained.
Hope had a prolific 2025 with the bat, scoring 1760 runs across formats. He finished four runs behind India’s Shubman Gill’s 1764 runs across formats.
He averaged 40 in the year 2025 and struck five centuries and nine 50s in the 42 international matches he played this year. Hope had a strike rate of 82.24. He is expected to be a key man for the West Indies at the T20 World Cup, which will be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8, 2026.
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