There’s a lot at stake for West Indian batting duo Kraigg Braithwaite and Shai Hope during the Caribbean side’s upcoming test tour of England. Success will see the Barbadian duo being knighted in the eyes of Caribbean folks or frowned upon if failure is imminent.
Both right-handers are the batting flagbearers and will have to employ the sheet-anchor role of their side in the absence of Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo. Braithwaite and Hope are among the most experienced and perhaps the side’s more supremely capable batters in a unit filled with exciting batting prospects, but many of whom are yet to prove themselves on the international scene.
The high expectations of Braithwaite and Hope bear merit since the duo has excelled in daunting English conditions before. Three years ago, when West Indies last toured England, the pair was at the center of a remarkable run chase in the second test at the Headingley Cricket Ground and as ESPN’s Andrew Mc Glashan penned it, Hope took the larger portion of the applauds. The narrative read: “Shai Hope the hero in thrilling West Indies win.”
Hope’s knock was considered special for a number of reasons. Firstly; West Indies was hammered in the first test in Birmingham by an innings and 209 runs. Secondly, he was 12 matches into his career and without a test century and at the end of that match, the right-hander etched his name into the history books.
This is how McGlashan described it: “Shai Hope achieved what Kraigg Brathwaite narrowly missed, becoming the first batsman to score twin hundreds on the ground in first-class cricket and, at 6.43pm, with the floodlights illuminating the ground almost as much as the day-night Test last week, Hope tucked the ball through square to complete one of the most unexpected redemption stories in the game’s history.”
Hope struck a sensational 147 in the first innings and backed that with an unbeaten 118 to carry his side over the line.
Braithwaite on the other hand notched up 134 and 95, in a sublime performance to give West Indies a memorable win. But Hope after his Headingly masterclass never really lived up to the expectations in the test arena. In 31 tests, he averages 27 and his century tally is right where it was after the 2017 second test in England. Quite disappointing for a player of his caliber.
Meanwhile, Hope’s countryman Braithwaite, after his Headingley heroics in 2017 only went past the 100-run mark twice after; both times against Bangladesh in 2018.
Despite reaching those landmarks, his form over the last few years, however, has been steadily declining which makes the England tour a career-defining juncture.
For the years 2016 to 2019, his averages were 55, 37, 24, and 16 respectively. Worrying statistics for a man whose technique and mental fortitude will be tested against Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chis Woakes, and the Barbadian Jofra Archer. Nonetheless, a batsman of Braithwaite’s pedigree has all the tools to pull himself out of that rot.
He would need to begin his 2020 season on the right track by re-producing his Headingley numbers all series long to not only retool his career but also to give West Indies a fighting chance.
Although his overall average against England sits at a mere 35, his numbers on English soil are quite encouraging.
