Shai Hope is walking on thin ice

By Brandon Corlette

Have you ever witnessed totals of 20 or 30 being scored by the prettiest of strokes? Look at Shai Hope in Test matches, he plays the sweetest drives and looks like a textbook player at the crease, but runs scored by this class act in the game’s longest format have been limited.

In the ongoing Test series against England, Hope recorded scores of 16, 09, 25 and 07. His form has been a concern for everyone, including West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons and lead selector Roger Harper. Hope has a Test batting average of 26.35, and he scored two centuries back in the golden days of 2017 at Headingly. That is certainly history.
However, his One Day International (ODI) record is up there with the best. After 78 ODI matches, Hope averages 52.2, with nine centuries and 17 fifties. Test cricket is a different game, and after all his failures, the impressive batsman is walking on thin ice.

Harper, as West Indies lead selector, has said Hope’s performances in the series are a bit of a concern, but the team has looked to him as a leader in the batting group.
“We know he has been consistent in the ODI game, so we expect him to deliver, and I am sure that can’t be too far away,” Harper has said.
With indications that John Campbell would be the unlucky batsman to miss out on Friday, Harper has hinted that Hope should deliver.

Meanwhile, Head Coach Phil Simmons, in his virtual briefing on Monday after the team’s defeat, said he is also concerned that Hope has an average of 14.2.
“Yes, I am concerned,” he admitted. “It is gone four innings without a score, which is in contrast to how (Hope) has played in the last sixth months in the other formats. I am concerned about his form, and we will be sitting and having a chat over the next couple of days,” Simmons revealed.
In looking at the other names in terms of batting replacements for Hope and John Campbell, Nkrumah Bonner is another batsman in the 15-man squad, while the in-form Joshua Da Silva, Sunil Ambris and Shayne Mosely are other reserve batsmen on tour.
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Johnny Grave, who spoke on the Mason and Guest Show on Tuesday, said that in order for a reserve player to feature in the Test squad, he must be called into the Test squad and be picked in the starting XI.
“Technically speaking, no, they could not. They need to call up that reserve into the Test squad, and from that, pick a new XI,” Grave explained.
When asked if the squad could have been bigger, Grave said 15 players is enough. “Every time a player is called into the squad, there is financial implications,” Grave added.
For Hope, it may not be the end, but he will have to count himself lucky if he is given another run in the third and final Test match on Friday.