HARARE, Zimbabwe, CMC- Captain Shai Hope minced no words ahead of West Indies’ second game of the ICC World Cup qualifiers against Nepal, calling on his side to be more convincing in their execution.
The Caribbean side brushed aside the United States by 39 runs in last Sunday’s opener, but Hope lamented some aspects of the effort, stressing a need for clinical performance by both batsmen and bowlers.
“I think the middle order has been the biggest concern for us of late, but again, all of our batters need to pull their weight; they need to take full responsibility with the bat and give our bowlers the next opportunity to finish games,” Hope told reporters Thursday.
“Again, if we get a good start where the two openers bat the entire innings, then we don’t have to worry about the middle, but we have to take full responsibility as a batting group and make sure we get those big totals on the board, and if we’re chasing, score those runs more convincingly.”
He added: “One thing about our squad [is] we have a lot of depth, especially in the batting department – we bat basically to number 11. But it is not for the lower order to pull the weight for us; we need to ensure that the top half of the batters are doing the bulk of the work as a batting group.”
West Indies were wobbling on 14 for two in the sixth over against the United States before Hope, Johnson Charles, Roston Charles, and Jason Holder lashed the fifties to propel the innings to 297 all out off 49 overs.
Defending their total, West Indies failed to bowl out the United States, despite reducing them to 182 for seven in the 40th over.
Gajanand Singh, who featured for West Indies in the 2006 ICC Under-19 World Cup and represented Guyana at first-class level, counter-attacked with an unbeaten hundred to lead his side to 258 for seven off their 50 overs.
Regarding that performance, Hope said more intent needed to be shown in the bowling to finish off teams quicker.
“[We need] that same positivity I mentioned earlier. In times past, we tended to be a little more defensive, but I’m trying to see us continuing looking for wickets all the time – that should be the aim for the entire innings,” the 29-year-old said.
“There are some instances you have to go on the defensive, especially when teams are coming at you, but that initial focus should always be to take wickets, and in this situation, we know that net run rate could play a part.
“So the quicker we finish games and the more convincing we finish games, the better it would be for us in the long run.”
Yet, Hope said he was not worried by the performance against the United States, especially with four games remaining in Group A of the qualifiers.
“I can understand the concerns looking on from the outside, but we have to play what we see; we have to play the day because some days other teams will give us a more challenging fight,” he said.
“But I can’t say we must worry too much about that game. That game is in the past; we need to look ahead.
“We need to make sure we play more clinical games, but that’s in the past. We need to learn from our mistakes in the last game and move on.”
SQUADS:
NEPAL – Rohit Paudel (captain), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Gyanendra Malla, Kushal Malla, Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Bhim Sharki, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratish JC, Arjun Saud, Kishor Mahato.
WEST INDIES – Shai Hope (captain), Rovman Powell, Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd.
and then 