– 875 ODI runs, number eight ranked ODI batsman
By Brandon Corlette
With his sensational batting performances in recent times, Shai Diego Hope has of late been the talk of the Caribbean. Like most Caribbean cricketers, Hope came through the ranks, graduating from List A and First Class cricket playing for Barbados.
Born in beautiful Barbados on November 10, 1993, Kyle Hope, younger brother of Shai Hope, attended Queen’s College in Husbands, Barbados, and St Bede’s sixth form on a scholarship from 2012 after being spotted on a scouting mission by Alan Wells, the school’s head of cricket.
With the foundation of a sound education, Hope is mentally strong, and this is reflected in his cricket, his having scored twin centuries in one test match in England. The elegant, right-handed stoke-maker has 54 first-class matches beneath his belt, with eight centuries and twelve half centuries. He has scored a
career best 215* against the Guyana Jaguars.
Hope has been criticised for his slow pace at batting, but his current T20 International strike rate of 151 dictates otherwise. Having scored 3322 First Class runs, Hope’s List ‘A’ career is equally impressive, averaging 44.71 playing for Barbados Pride in the Regional Super 50 tournaments.
The premier batsman has scored seven List ‘A’ centuries, with thirteen half centuries in 68 matches. His highlight in the regional arena will be the back-to-back century scored in the 2017 Regional Super 50 knockouts.
In the semi-final against the Leeward Islands, Hope took control of the match, scoring a masterful 125 to lead Barbados Pride into the final. He proved his consistency by scoring another century in the very next match, to help Barbados Pride lift the Regional Super 50 title in 2017.
That 2017 tournament saw Hope being a regular member of the Windies squads, his having compiled 482 runs at an average of 48.2, including two hundreds and three half centuries.
Shai hoped for a miracle when West Indies toured England. He entered the series as a boy with potential, and finished as Player of the Series. On the international
scene, Hope had a brilliant year in 2017, scoring the most runs by a West Indian — 773 runs in ten test matches. Hope scored two centuries and three half centuries, averaging 45.47. Only ten other batsmen in the world have scored more test runs than Hope in 2017.
That same year, West Indies registered a historic win over England at Headingley, and Hope achieved the rare feat of scoring two centuries at the historic England venue in one match. His was an innings so filled with class and maturity that not even the great Geoff Boycott had gained that achievement.
Hope maintained consistency, entering 2018 with a similar mindset — hungry to score runs at a consistent rate. He is presently ranked number eight in the world, with a career high rating of 780.
This gifted batsman plays his cricket with ease and grace, and ironically is ranked eighth on the 2018 most ODI run scorers list with 875 runs, tied with Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman.
Hope has registered three breathtaking centuries and three solid half centuries at an average of 67.30. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are the only two other batsmen with better ODI averages in 2018. Hope has scored four ODI centuries and seven half-centuries, averaging 47.48 in 44 matches. The Barbadian born West Indian stalwart has on two occasions scored centuries in tied ODI matches.
In 2016, Hope scored his maiden ODI ton against Zimbabwe, and in 2018 he scored a century in a tied encounter against England.
The year 2019 may be another fruitful year for Shai Hope. With England touring the West Indies in January 2019, Hope will be aiming to consolidate his standing at home in Barbados, where the first test match is to be played.
If Hope continues his rich vein of form, the West Indies Team may be a prime candidate to win the 50 Over Cricket World Cup.
