KOLKATA: On February 3, the International Cricket Council’s social media handle posted pictures from West Indies photoshoot on X. While sharing portraits of each West Indian player in a thread, they stopped at 14. The footnote of the final tweet’s caption read — ‘Shimron Hetmyer - Not present’.
It created a storm. Hetmyer had missed a flight to India from South Africa and it was not the first time it had happened just before a T20 World Cup. Back in 2022, the West Indies batter missed a flight to get to Australia, which was rescheduled at his request for “personal reasons” and was replaced by Shamarh Brooks. So when Hetmyer was not present for the team photoshoot, speculations were rife about him missing the flight and whether it would be a repeat of 2022.
However, it was seemingly because of a visa delay and the southpaw eventually joined the team a day before their opening game against Scotland. So, when he walked out to bat at No. 3 for the Men in Maroon, there may have been a case for jetlag? Nope. It's why Hetmyer remains a maverick, an outlier. It's why the Islanders go back to him, his talent so vast and so rich.
He smashed a 36-ball 64, breathing some much-needed momentum into their innings. When the left-hander walked out, the scoreboard read 57/1 after nine overs. Hetmyer then saw Brandon King get out at the other end as Scotland gained control after opting to bowl first.
The 29-year-old took it upon himself to reverse the dynamic. Oliver Davidson was launched over long-off and Michael Leask saw the ball sail over the fence on the leg side twice. Mark Watt too faced the same fate — consecutive sixes flew off Hetmyer’s bat — before the West Indian reached his fifty off just 22 balls.
The left-hander from Guyana has always been a bit of a batting freak. Someone who can take the game on and win matches on his own in a few overs. He is also one of the few with not many negative match-ups in the T20 circuit. The issue, however, has been about consistency. From the moment he broke into the limelight, leading West Indies to an U19 World Cup title in 2016, Hetmyer has been seen as someone who could play a big role. However, a decade on, that has not happened. Though there are other factors, including the general direction in which the game has progressed and the structural issues in West Indies cricket, it would not be an understatement to say that he hasn’t lived up to his full potential.
Over the years, he has been a regular in the T20 leagues and the national set up, often batting in the lower middle-order, doing the dirty job of finishing matches, one that has not allowed him to stack up big numbers. Even in the first T20I against South Africa a few days ago, he was batting at No 6.
However, in the lead up to the T20 World Cup, the team has challenged him to take on the No 3 – a place where he has batted previously. The numbers since read: 75 (42), 48 n.o (22) and 64 (36). “I think it was a beautiful conversation to see his teammates challenging to take that No 3 spot," head coach Darren Sammy had said on the eve of the game. “The responsibility (with which) he's batted with over the last three games… (if) he continues like that, he makes our batting stronger, and I hope that form can continue throughout the tournament,” he had explained.
On Saturday, he did just that against Scotland, helping West Indies post 182/5. He also went on to take a stunning catch early on, setting up the innings. Romario Shepherd (5/20, including a hat-trick) took over from there and delivered an all-round performance. Sherfane Rutherford (26) gave the finishing touches with the bat and Shepherd with the ball, but it was Hetmyer who rose to the occasion, helping the 2012 and 2016 winners kickstart their World Cup campaign by beating Scotland by 35 runs.
Brief scores: WI 182/5 in 20 ovs (Hetmyer 64, Rutherford 26) bt Scotland 147 all out (Richie Berrington 42, Shepherd 5/20).