"Honestly, it was a very slow outfield," Hope observed. "So that 219 could easily have been closer to 300. When I was batting, I hit quite a few balls through the gap, but scoring was never easy. It's under par, it's under what we were expecting, but I still think we have a chance."
"I just try to simplify it as much as I can, playing the ball late" - Hope © Getty
(CRICBUZZ)Shai Hope, who has compiled two centuries and two fifties in his last five Test innings, admitted that Windies' first innings total of 219 in the first Test in Bulawayo was 'under par'. However, he added that run-scoring wasn't easy and the visitors still have a chance of registering a come-from-behind win.
Hope had a poor start to his career, illustrated by the fact that he hadn't scored a fifty in his first eight Tests. The Barbados batsman, however, started the 2016-17 season on a good note by averaging 75.4 in the Regional four-day competition. He followed it up with a crucial 90 in the Bridgetown Test against Pakistan.
Hope then had a wonderful time in England, where he notched up twin hundreds in the Leeds Test to secure the visitors' memorable five-wicket win. He also composed a fine hand of 62 in difficult conditions for batting in the Lord's Test.
In the first Test versus Zimbabwe, Hope continued to be the backbone of the Windies line-up as he essayed a vital unbeaten innings of 90, with wickets falling around him. The promising Windies batsman said that he has tried to stick to the basics, which has helped him to succeed in different conditions.
"Keep it as simple as possible. Try not to complicate your game and put too many things in your head. Rotate the strike," he said. "I just try to simplify it as much as I can, playing the ball late. Pick the gaps and keep the score rotating as much as possible. You don't really want them [spinners] to settle on one batsman, because that makes it much easier. They know where to bowl consistently. In the end they'll get you out," he added.
Hope also commended Kieran Powell, the opener, for adapting to the conditions and accruing a fifty. "I would say we were ahead of the game at that stage. I can see his [Powell's] confidence is good, he's playing a lot better. He's adapting to the conditions as well."
Over a period of time, the track in Bulawayo has helped the spinners to an extent. Spinners, Ray Prince, Paul Strang and Daniel Vettori, are among the top five wicket-takers (Tests) at the ground. Having played a few One-Day Internationals last year at the ground, Hope noted that he expected the track to turn.
"It's always an advantage to be playing at a ground you've played on before," Hope said. "Last year it spun quite a bit, so it wasn't as much of a surprise, despite it being a first-day pitch. We might not have expected it to spin quite as much though."
Cricbuzz