Now that the dust has settled on the announcement of the West Indies squads that are scheduled to tour New Zealand in the coming weeks, there are a few topical selections I would like to weigh in on.
Right off the bat, Roger Harper’s assertiveness in dropping the out-of-sorts Shai Hope, which was no surprise, is perhaps his bravest selection move since taking over the job just over a year ago. It must have been a tough call for Harper to exclude one of game’s purest batsmen, let alone one of the best in the region, however, his dropping is justified.
Hope has been prolific in One Day internationals, where he averages over 50; it’s in stark contrast to his test career where he operates at just over 25. His returns during West Indies’ most recent tour of England didn’t help his cause. He averaged below 18 on that tour and should have been dropped for the final match of the three-match series.