BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Shai Hope, captain of the West Indies One Day Worldwide (ODI) workforce, expressed his deep sense of honor after scoring his seventeenth ODI century, a landmark that locations him amongst a number of the West Indies’ cricket legends.
The 30-year-old’s efficiency throughout the second ODI match towards England on the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Sunday earned him 117 runs, shifting him into the celebrated ranks of West Indian cricket historical past.
This exceptional achievement means Hope now shares the third spot for essentially the most ODI centuries by a West Indian, equaling the report held by Desmond Haynes, one of many workforce’s most celebrated opening batsmen. The one West Indies gamers with extra centuries in ODIs are the long-lasting Brian Lara with 19 and Chris Gayle with a powerful 25 throughout his 298-match profession.
His focus stays on profitable video games
Regardless of the milestone, Hope emphasised that his focus stays on profitable video games for the West Indies, not on private accolades. Talking at a press convention on Tuesday at Kensington Oval, he mentioned, “It’s actually not a giant factor for me; the large factor for me is profitable video games. Sure, you must respect historical past, they usually’ve been round and doing nice issues for years, but when I’m scoring centuries and we don’t win, it actually doesn’t really feel like something.”
– Commercial –
For Hope, particular person information maintain worth solely once they assist the workforce safe victories. “Sure, it’s a fantastic achievement, however I need it to contribute to wins,” he added firmly.
Reflecting on his profession since debuting towards Sri Lanka in 2016, Hope famous that he didn’t foresee reaching such heights again then. “It wasn’t one thing I thought of in any respect. I simply needed to win video games, and personally, if I get these large scores, it’s a plus,” he admitted. “It’s one thing that individuals like to speak about—it’s not considered one of my forefronts—however I wasn’t actually excited about scoring 17 or 20 a whole lot for the West Indies in any kind.”
He concluded by highlighting the privilege he feels to play the game professionally and to symbolize the West Indies. “I’m blessed to be doing this. I’m attending to play the game that I like, and I at all times needed to play for the West Indies. Rising up watching the entire legends play and simply replicating a number of the issues that they’ve been doing is a particular factor for me.”
