Shai Hope brings up 17th ODI hundred, joins an elite list of West Indies stars

West Indies captain Shai Hope notched up his 17th ODI hundred during the 1st match against England at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on November 2, Saturday.

Hope became the joint-third highest centurion for West Indies in the ODI format. The West Indies captain roared back to format after managing just 29 runs in his last eight outings. West Indies were asked to bowl and lost two early wickets, reeling at 12/2. Hope shouldered the responsibility to take his team out of trouble and put up a competitive total on the board.

Chris Gayle with 25 ODI tons tops the West Indies list of batters with most hundreds in the format. He is followed by the legendary Brian Lara who scored 19 ODI centuries. Shai Hope is now joint-third alongside Desmon Haynes as their tally stands at 17 hundreds. Hope showcased his quality as a 50-over batter as he scored 117 runs from 127 balls with eight boundaries and four maximums.

Shai Hope brings up his 17th ODI ton

The captain led from the front as his team finished off at 328 runs in their 50-over quota. He walked into bat at a precarious situation when Evin Lewis departed after scoring just 4 runs on the very first ball of the 4th over. However, Hope did not let the pressure on his team and started off with some counter-attacking shots.

Most ODI hundreds for West Indies

Hope and Keacy Carty stabilised the innings after early jolts, but the runs weren’t coming off that easily. Nonetheless, Hope brought up his fifty in the 23rd over with a maximum off Jacob Bethell’s delivery. Adil Rashid provided a much-needed breakthrough for England as the partnership of 143 runs came to an end.

Hope helped West Indies build a great foundation alongside Keacy as Sherfane Rutherford accelerated the innings with a quick-fire 54 from just 36 balls. Shimron Hetmyer followed next with quickfire 24 from just 11 balls. Meanwhile, Hope held the fort from one end as the other batters provided the acceleration. He reached the three-figure mark in the 44th over off Saqib Mahmood’s delivery.