IND v WI | Shai Hope is West Indies’ best bet across formats right now, says Brian Lara
Legendary cricketer Brian Lara has picked Shai Hope to be the standout West Indian performer across formats at the moment. Though West Indies won the first of three ODIs against India with ease, Lara wants the batsmen to show more maturity and patience in the middle overs of the match.
On Sunday, Hope scored an unbeaten 102, while scripting a dominating win over hosts India in Chennai alongside Shimron Hetmyer (139 off 106). The duo stitched together a 218-run partnership as Windies chased down a 288-run target with utmost ease and took a 1-0 lead in the series. According to Lara, Hope could well be the talisman for West Indian cricket going forward because of his ability to play in all formats of the game.
"Presently, I think Shai Hope is the best option we have in terms of a batsman who can play all formats. He is not a bad attacking player, pretty much a decent Test player. He will stand out. Pooran, Hetmyer and even Brandon King the new find, these are the guys that you can mould. I think that they will mature a little bit later than others," Lara told IANS.
Skipper Kieron Pollard, who has been tasked with the job of turning around their ODI fortunes, had spoken about the West Indies being on a mission to climb up the rankings — they are currently placed ninth. However, Lara feels that such long-term success will come only if the batting order can show more patience through the middle phase of a 50-over innings.
"The middle overs are very important. When you compare the 20-over game to the 50-over game, the disparity is huge. Some players are caught in the mindset of attacking every single ball. You have to understand that it is a seven-hour game and a lot can happen within it," he said.
"Pollard has been given a huge job, a great responsibility as the captain. I think he has an opportunity with all his experience around the world, to give something back in terms of representing West Indies cricket. I think he is going to be a positive influence on the youngsters," Lara said.
The 50-year-old welcomed all-rounder Dwayne Bravo’s decision to come out of retirement for the T20 World Cup next year.
"I know he has come out of retirement and is back in contention. He is always a good player to have around, but he will have to fit into the mould. They have got a very good group of young cricketers," Lara added.
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