Hope wants West Indies to land first blow against Ireland

WEST Indies One-Day International (ODI) captain Shai Hope wants his players to land the first punch when they bowl off a three-match series against Ireland at Castle Avenue in Dublin, on May 21. The first match will begin at 5.45 am TT time.

The regional team will face cool conditions in the first match. On May 20, speaking to the media on Zoom, Hope said his players are thankful the conditions are manageable compared to six years ago when the West Indies travelled to Ireland.

"I think the boys are sweating right now with this 13-degree weather in comparison to the three-degree (weather) we had back in 2019...the guys are acclimatising pretty well. I think the few days leading up to the series are certainly doing us well. I think whenever you come to these parts of the world, an extra couple of days will always be beneficial to the team. The guys are settling well and we are ready to go tomorrow (May 21)."

Hope likes the direction West Indies are heading.

"I think we've shown glimpses of the brand that we want to play. The last few series that we have been involved in the guys are really showing that they want to be one of the teams to be reckoned with going forward. We just got to ensure that we understand what is in front of us every single time we go out to play, understand the conditions quickly." West Indies won their last two ODI series against England and Bangladesh in the Caribbean at the end of 2024.

Hope wants his players to come out swinging and not wait to respond when on the back foot.

"It is more about a first punch mentality, I would say, instead of waiting back and sitting and allowing the opposition to get on top of us. We have been showing great signs of that and the preparation that we have been doing over the last couple of months have been geared towards that."

Hope, who is also the West Indies T20 captain, said results are in the front of his mind, especially with marquee tournaments on the horizon.

"I am the appointed white-ball captain now, so my focus has to be on winning and doing well for the region. It just so happens that we have two major tournaments coming up in the next couple years, so yes the focus is on winning every single game, but we are always speaking about being a championship-winning team in the dressing team and there is a process to it."

The next T20 World Cup will be held in 2026, followed by the 50-over World Cup the following year.

Ireland received a blow ahead of the series as Curtis Campher and Craig Young recently picked up injuries. Irish skipper Paul Stirling said other players must be ready to fill the gap.

"It is unfortunate, injuries do happen in sport. I think you have to look at the positive side of this that there will be a few new faces around, probably getting a look slightly earlier than we had considered. Ultimately, getting more games of cricket into a number of different cricketers is going to help us in the long run. It is actually pretty exciting."

The Irish skipper said he is uncertain what will be his starting XI. "We are going to look at the wicket and the conditions and make a decision from there, but all options are open as usual."

Squads:

West Indies

Shai Hope (captain), Jewel Andrew, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, John Campbell, Jayden Seales.

Ireland

Paul Stirling (captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Stephen Doheny, Cade Carmichael, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Tom Mayes, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Liam McCarthy, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Jordan Neill.