Thiruvananthapuram. Ever heard of it?
Well, that’s the busy town on the south-west coast of India where West Indies will start their cricket tour today in the bid to win the three-match One-Day Internationals series and chart the course towards qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup next year.
Known to residents as “God’s Own Country”, it is not a main venue on the cricket calendar on the sub-continent, so today’s contest is hugely anticipated and it is expected to attract a capacity crowd of over 50 000 at the Greenfield International Stadium.
Over 35 000 tickets were sold on the first day of sales and play bowls off at 2 p.m. local time or 4:30 a.m. Barbados time.
West Indies captain Shai Hope, as he always does, got the ball rolling yesterday as he relished the opportunity to speak to the Indian media at the ground.
There was no mention of the recent massive pay cuts to players’ contracts by Cricket West Indies (CWI).
Instead, Hope was clever at articulating his team’s vision to win their first series on Indian soil in 24 years and use that as a fillip when they approach the challenge of the World Cup Qualifiers next March.
‘Always a challenge’
“Playing India in their backyard is always a challenge. It is one that we definitely need to grasp and embrace. It’s a great indicator for us to see where we are as a team,” he said.
“I pride myself a lot on trying to be the best I can be. You have to adapt to different conditions and opponents. Every day isn’t going to be your day, but I focus on the fine details to give myself the best chance.”
He added: “Playing in India requires a completely different approach compared to Australia or back home in the Caribbean. It’s about being very critical with your training and preparation. That’s something I constantly emphasise in team meetings, especially for the guys who haven’t toured here before,” he added.
Hope, who has one of the greatest records in the history of ODIs by a wicket-keeper/batsman, said he fully embraces and enjoys the job of shepherding a team filled with some experienced stars and a few promising rookies.
In a fascinating career batting at the top of the order and now in the middle, he has scored 6 312 runs in 149 innings at an average of 50.09 with 19 centuries.
Those ahead of him on the all-time run charts are Chris Gayle (10 425), Brian Lara (10 348), Shiv Chanderpaul (8 778), The Most Honourable Desmond Haynes (8 648) and Sir Viv Richards (6 721).
Phenomenal record
The 32-year-old needs one more century to surpass Lara on the West Indies all-time list and occupy second spot behind Gayle with 25 centuries.
Hope has a phenomenal record in India with 741 runs at an average of 74.1 in 14 matches with a best of 123 among his three centuries.
Overall in 26 ODIs against India, Hope has amassed 988 runs at an average of 47.
He is particularly good against the spin bowlers with a strike rate of 95. Back to business, Hope acknowledged the magnitude of the task against the number one ranked team in the world. “The harsh reality is that almost every series we go into, these statistics are brought up – that we haven’t beaten a team in 15 or 20 years. It definitely adds motivation. We know it’s going to be a tough battle, but we want to change that script,” he said.
Hope threw the full weight of support behind his spinners to play a pivotal role on Indian surfaces, namely, the experienced pair of Roston Chase and Gudakesh Motie alongside young left-arm wrist-spinner Vitel Lawes.
“Roston and Motie have played quite a few games and made significant impacts for us over the last few years. Lawes has already shown what he’s capable of at this level, and I expect him to keep growing. He can be a huge asset for us going forward, and we’ll certainly be leaning on our spinners heavily during this tour,” he added.
SQUADS: West Indies:
Shai Hope (captain), Jewel Andrew, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Vitel Lawes, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales
India:
Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir. (PS)