NEW DELHI: When Shai Hope broke through the senior set-up for the first time in 2015, he was supposed to be the mainstay of the side for a long time. He had dominated first-class cricket and he had become the latest batter from the region to evoke nostalgia and yearning in equal measure. The management recognised this as he received his maiden cap from Clive Lloyd.
His promise flickered but there was a mismatch between prophecy and reality. That changed across five madcap summer days in Headingley in England when Hope scored two 100s — including an unbeaten one in the fourth innings — to take West Indies home in a thriller in 2017.
A new hero was birthed, divination had materialised.
And, then, nothing. West Indies lurched from one crisis to another. Covid came. Countries and regions went into lockdown. Hope became a one-day machine, averaging over 50. Hope left Test cricket. Hope became their white-ball captain. Hope became a T20 cricketer as he started touring the franchise world. After he had turned his back on the world of five-day cricket -- a world he had once belonged to -- he had played 119 T20 games in Asia, Europe and the Caribbean.
He had improved his strike rate in the shortest format but he was always an awkward fit within the grammar of that particular format. Then, in June, a fig leaf. He came back to the fold in the series against Australia.
He didn't set that world on fire -- 48, 2, 21, 17, 23 and 2 came in six innings -- but it was not a series for the batters. He showed some flashes in the first Test at Ahmedabad but over the last four days at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the 31-year-old has showed more than the odd glimpse. His game against spin was assured, there was a method to the way he went about constructing his innings -- John Campbell said the plan the duo had was to take on spin early on as the field was up -- and he was prepared to be patient.
He did put the loose balls away but he was also prepared to stay in the present. At no time did he allow the thoughts of two milestones -- a 50 on Sunday evening and a 100 on Monday morning -- to influence his decision-making process.
"It's always easy to bat with an experienced player like him," Campbell said on Monday evening. Off Mohammed Siraj, the Barbadian, who has played in this ground previously thanks to his stint with the Delhi Capitals franchise in 2024, played on when he had just refocused following his third Test ton. But against the new ball, the ricochet off the inside edge thudded into the stumps.
The sound, in a sense, was akin to that of the deathknell for the visitors in this Test. But this could be the starting of the second wind for a cricketer who has always had the potential for magic.
Can he now align potential with reality?
