Hope on T20I success: Windies needed to leave the past behind

On the back of three consecutive Twenty/international (T20I) series wins against South Africa, India and defending International Cricket Council T20 World Cup champions England, West Indies T20I vice-captain Shai Hope said it was important for the team to leave the past behind to achieve these winning results.

Hope, 30, was named as the vice-captain of the West Indies T20I team ahead of the exciting five-match series against England. West Indies clinched the series by a 3-2 margin after getting a four-wicket win at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Trinidad on Thursday in a low-scoring affair. Using his One Day International patience, Hope finished unbeaten on a run-a-ball 43 to help the Windies over the line – hitting an expansive extra-cover six off Chris Woakes to take his team to the 133-run target in the final over of the match.

West Indies, two-time T20 World Cup champions, were knocked out of the group stages of the 2021 T20 World Cup. West Indies then failed to make it to the main round of the subsequent 2022 T20 World Cup after losing two of three qualifying matches against Scotland and Ireland last October. In the June/July 2023 50-over World Cup qualifiers, West Indies again fell short of advancing to the main round of a marquee ICC tournament – succumbing to losses against Netherlands, Scotland, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe as they crashed out in the qualifying round.

In the T20I arena, West Indies got back to winning ways as they got a 2-1 series win away to South Africa in March. A gripping 3-2 T20I series win followed versus the number one-ranked India on home soil in August, with Hope making his return to the West Indies T20I team after being out of the setup for 18 months. Now captain Rovman Powell's deputy, Hope, the ODI skipper, has helped the Windies to a big scalp against the reigning T20 world champs.

Speaking after Thursday's exciting win at the BLCA, Hope indicated what led to the team's turnaround in the white-ball game.

"First, we had to leave (the bad results) in the past. We literally cannot control anything which has happened previously," Hope said. "The important thing was to get that out of our system and then focus on what was in front of us."

With the 2024 T20 World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by West Indies and the US, bowling off in June, Hope said the Windies were trending upwards.

"We had to prepare well and when we crossed the line we executed really well. It is great to see the guys are buying into the plans and the same attitude we are speaking about. I am happy to see the strides we are making and it is only up from here."

Hope also led the West Indies to a historic 2-1 series win over England in the preceding three-match ODI series and was adjudged the player of the series.

"Once I get the opportunity to bat, regardless of the format, the aim is to win games for the team and I am just happy to be contributing to the team's success.

"We have had a hard time over the last few months – or years – as a West Indies team in all three formats. We just need to execute a bit more and we are going to get a lot more consistent wins."

Hope also heaped praise on Powell, who took over the T20I captaincy from Nicholas Pooran in February this year.

"Rovman is one of the coolest guys in the dressing room. It is great to see. He has been successful so far. He is a great leader and I just want to see him growing as a leader and a batsman."

Hope, who has played 38 Test matches, was considered for selection by lead selector Desmond Haynes for West Indies' two-match Test series away to Australia starting on January 17. Haynes said Hope pointed to a need for more red-ball cricket before venturing back into the Test arena. Hope's last Test match came against Sri Lanka in December 2021. In addition to the two-match Test series, WI will play three ODIs and three T20Is against Australia.