West Indies captain Shai Hope’s full press conference after the T20 World Cup match against England.
(Reporter:)
Yesterday your coach said that Mumbai have been kind to the West Indies when it comes to the World Cup. How nice was it to you tonight?
(Shai Hope:)
We won the game so we are very kind. It’s one of those reasons that when you come here you feel like playing cricket. I can say the same about most places in India, but something about Wankhede, it just brings a different atmosphere, a different energy. But yes, it’s a very nice field to play on. It’s nice to win here too.
(Reporter:)
Shai, a 3-0 defeat to England in the three-match series last year was followed by a series loss to Nepal. How much does this wicket win, which had something for the batsmen and the bowlers, in terms of your own campaign at this World Cup when you are up against a full side, very tough opposition?
(Shai Hope:)
As I said earlier, we are talking about the Cricket World Cup. And it’s very important to us to make sure we play the best we can on that day every time we show up. It’s not like a two-way series where you can be down one and then come back in the series and win 3-2 or whatever it might be. You have to make sure that you try to execute as accurately as possible, especially from the jump, because like I said, there’s not really a second or third play that you can go back to and hope for the best. But for us, I really can’t put too much stress and emphasis on the past. I always talk about learning from the past. The results we’ve had before, that’s something we can’t necessarily control. Now we have to focus on what lies ahead. It’s just nice to get two wins in our first two games and the aim is to continue that trend and hopefully run through the rest of the group stage games pretty smoothly.
(Reporter:)
You brought Roston into the team and you’ve been around a lot. Was this a plan specifically for England? Do you feel they have a few problems against spin?
(Shai Hope:)
Yeah, like I said, it was a tactical change on the roll. He’s one of those players who can come in and make a call at any time. Yeah, we understand the threat they have with some lefties that can take the game away from us. And he’s again one of those pitchers who can come in and be relied upon at any point in time. We have seen that he has been very crucial and essential with the bat in our batting innings as well. So he gave us some stability. And like I said, he’s one of those utility players that you can never neglect.
(Reporter:)
But is it specific to England? Is that something you see as a way to get to England or is it more general?
(Shai Hope:)
It was just the team we felt needed to win against England and we just picked that team.
(Reporter:)
I don’t know if you’ve been asked this before, but if you could describe Sherfane’s journey up to now. Like, you had to see him up close. So is it someone who feels the pressure or just kind of bats in the way you all come with natural talent?
(Shai Hope:)
I might have to ask him about that. But when it comes to Sherf, he has always been a hard worker, especially when it comes to his batting. He is always very diligent in his preparation. And if he’s really working on something, he’d be batting from the beginning of the session to the end. And I don’t think that’s changed from when he joined the team until now. And so it’s just nice to see when the guys put in that hard work in the nets and that preparation, after which success follows. So it’s very good to see Sherf come out and impress again today. And it is good to see the batsmen putting their hands up. I still have a few that need to be done. But happy days for Sherfan. I hope he can continue. I hope it’s not too bad, the little injury he has today.
(Reporter:)
Shai, was it any surprise to see England bowl first on the dew point? And halfway through, did you think the total you got was par for that surface considering the number of turns there were?
(Shai Hope:)
I honestly think that since I would have done the same, I would have actually played first. The Wankhede, tends to be a place to chase, especially when the little ball comes a little better. The dew factor wasn’t there today, but you usually get pretty wet. Especially in the second innings, it is difficult for the spinners to get hold of the ball. But maybe only around par, I’d say for us, but still happy to get something on the board. As I said earlier, it’s a World Cup game and that in itself can be 10-20 extra runs, so it’s important for us to make sure we try to maximize as best we can and then execute with the ball.
(Reporter:)
Shai, again on Sherfan Rutherford. The numbers don’t do justice to his talent or what he’s capable of. What makes him special? As he is approaching 50 T20s and doesn’t average more than 22 or something, just 50 in T20s today. What makes him special?
(Shai Hope:)
You can just watch him and see how special he is. But sometimes we have to throw statistics out the window every now and then. You know, you can just look at a player and see what effect he has on the team. If you ask any world cricketer if they see Sherfane Rutherford at the other end, they will always feel as if they are under pressure. So it speaks for itself. So I don’t think we necessarily have to focus too much on statistics. I am sure he will improve in the coming years as he is a quality player. Like I said before, I’m glad he’s getting the success he really deserves because he’s been playing really well, training hard and it’s only a matter of time before the consistency comes. So happy for him.
(Reporter:)
So West Indies is one team that knows Nepal very well as they played them in September. Akeal and Jason were part of that team. So, was there any chance, how do you view Nepal after that England match? Or you see – as you said, you see match by match. How do you see the development of Nepal? Was there any chance to watch them after the England game?
(Shai Hope:)
Like I said, it’s the World Cup. Any team in this tournament can beat any other team in one day. So we need to make sure we’re still working the way we need to. Planning has to be done once again, don’t take anyone lightly. We understand the importance of every single game, even though we have put ourselves in a good position to be in, we still have to make sure we plan it the same way we did against Nepal.
(Reporter:)
If you look at the batting order, we see a lot of your players in the current lineup play as closers in franchise leagues, but you’ve balanced that out with Roston coming in up the middle as well, so how does that play out with Hetty at third — does that change how the team deals with that?
(Shai Hope:)
I think guys – it was a smooth transition. The way we discussed it among ourselves to see what was the best way for us to maximize as a batting unit. And as you all can see, we have a very strong batting line-up. If everyone clicks a day, we can be very dangerous. Just about trying to find the best ways to maximize everyone’s abilities and skills. He is still one of the best batsmen in world cricket and he is not just a whip. Hetmyer is actually a dough. He can play all situations, in my opinion. So again he wants to maximize his skills and abilities for the team. And he’s off to a really nice start at number three and he’s having some impact right away.