The Shai Hope conundrum

Will the real Shai Hope please stand up?

Shai Hope plays ODI cricket like it is Test cricket, but has underachieved more often than not when facing the red ball. To casual viewers this might seem mysterious but a look at Hope’s batting style may reveal the reason for his struggles. Karthikeya Manchala explores…

Headingley 2017. A new script needs to be written.

With the West Indies tour of England underway it would be fair to say Shai Hope’s place in the Test team is under scrutiny. Although he is billed as the “best batsman in the side” or “most important player in the side” his only two test hundreds in 58 innings are those at Headingley 2017. It is those twin hundreds coupled with his ODI form that has kept him in the squad for three years despite diminishing returns.

Arguably no other top order batsman in the world should feel secure of his place in a test match top order with an average of 27. But Hope is arguably West Indies most talented batsman and is a solid ODI anchor (52.20), so why is he repeatedly failing?

Firstly, despite Hope opening in ODI cricket, the reality is that the white ball does not swing for more than two overs these days. Plus, Hope is most successful in ODI cricket in Asian venues where his technique against seam bowling or high quality pace is not tested as often. 

In Test cricket, the ball remains conducive to seam and swing for longer and as a result, his hard handed technique gives rise to more caught-behinds and slip catches. Moreover, his technique against sharp short-pitched bowling has always remained a question mark. His tendency to insecurely fend off balls bowled at his body over the years has been a concern. A good example was his struggle against Mark Wood’s pace in St. Lucia 2019.

Another central element to Hope’s success in ODIs is his ability to accumulate runs by knocking the ball to fielders in the deep. With most fielders close up in Test cricket, his gap finding ability also comes under scrutiny. 

A series of dot balls often leads to him playing a loose shot, throwing away his wicket. There have been some calls to open with Hope but that may well be just a sacrificial move due to the paucity of openers. His record against seam just doesn’t justify such a move.

Against spin, he has definitely fared somewhat better in both formats combined. Albeit his average against left arm spin in Test cricket is still in the low 30s. 

All this means, it is unfair to expect Hope to repeat his Headingley heroics in the upcoming series - the task is a hard ask. Against a complete England lineup that will challenge all aspects of his technique - Broad and Anderson with seam and swing, Archer and Wood with pace, and Leach with his cunning left arm spin - he may just come up short. 

However with his immediate test match future on the line we may have a reason to be optimistic that his talent will shine through once more.