West Indies captain Shai Hope has showered praise on left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie after his match-defining 3-33 against England.
Hope credited the break Motie had from the game and disclosed that his new variation with the ball is helping the West Indies in the middle overs.
“Yeah, when you get some time off, you’ve got to make sure you’re trying to find ways to improve and elevate your game. He’s one of the class bowlers that we’ve had for some time now.
He’s just shown his class once again on the world stage. He’s brought something else to his game, and it’s benefiting us a lot here in the middle overs. It’s great to see that he’s continuing to progress and do what he does best for the West Indies,” Captain Hope disclosed.
Hope described the win against England as a more complete game, but he remains concerned about the opening partnership.
Hope, himself an opener along with Brandon King, had partnerships of 54 and 08. The opening partnership of 54 against Scotland was solid, but it came off 49 balls, which is a concerning factor for setting the tone in a T20I innings.
“The openers still aren’t firing yet, but it’s to come for sure. We’ve got to put our hands up for the next few games,” Hope said at the post-match.
Reflecting on the most recent win, Hope said the West Indies have been playing good cricket, but in patches.
“Yeah, for sure, but I’m just happy that the guys got over the line. We’ve been playing some good cricket in patches. Nice to see we’ve got more of a complete game today. And as you say, two games up, which is where we want to be in the table,” Hope explained.
The West Indies made one change to the team, adding Roston Chase to the XI. Hope described his countryman as versatile.
“Yeah, like I said in the pre-match, he’s a versatile player. He’s one that you can come and depend on in most good situations. With the bat, he can come in and stabilise the innings, and then with the ball, he can come and give you some crucial overs in the middle. It’s great to see him come in and get some crucial wickets, putting the England batters under pressure, and that’s exactly what we required today to get ourselves over the line.”
(Was Chase a floater with the bat tonight?) “Yeah, in this situation, we wanted him to just stabilise a bit. We understand we’ve got a lot of power in the depth in our batting. Today was just a slightly different role for him, but it was good to see he can come in and stabilise the innings for us,” Hope explained.
Hope also commended the Player of the Match, Sherfane Rutherford, for his batting exploits.
“Yeah, for sure. These guys have been playing really well the last couple of months. Sherfane has been exceptional, especially in the last few series that he’s been playing in. Again, it’s good to see one of the batters putting their hands up today and going big for the team.”
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