‘Hetmyer was wasted down the bottom’: Hope backs in-form batter ahead of Soth Africa and India clash

Shimron Hetmyer has been a key player for the West Indies at number three in the ongoing T20 World Cup, captain Shai Hope said. Hope added that Hetmyer’s talent was not fully used earlier when he batted lower down the order.

Hetmyer smashed 85 runs off just 34 balls to guide the West Indies to a huge 107-run win over Zimbabwe in a Super Eight match on Monday. Hope called the victory a big confidence boost before important games against South Africa and India.

During his explosive innings, Hetmyer hit seven sixes and seven fours, helping the West Indies score 254 for 6 — the second-highest total ever in T20 World Cup history.

“The way he is batting, I think sometimes, he was kind of wasted down the bottom in the innings. He’s such a good player, he can bat in all situations… (against) spin (and) pace,” Hope told reporters after the match.

“To utilise him in that phase, he comes out and plays with that freedom that we wanted him to play with. He’s been an asset for us, especially in this tournament. We gave him the role from South Africa (series and) he has embraced it,” he added.

Shimron Hetmyer has mostly batted in the lower middle order during his career, usually between numbers five and seven, where he was seen as a finisher. But in this tournament, he has proved that he can be just as effective when batting higher up the order.

Captain Shai Hope also praised the team’s all-round performance against Zimbabwe. The spinners played a key role, with Gudakesh Motie taking 4 for 28 and Akeal Hosein claiming 3 for 28 to help seal the big win.

“The way we’ve been playing, it certainly gives us a lot of confidence,” Hope said after the West Indies notched up their fifth consecutive win in the tournament.

“(It was a) great, great start, great confidence booster. But those games are gone. We’ve got to look ahead now. We’ve got South Africa next, and then India after that,” he said.

Hope singled out Motie for praise, saying he put in the hard yards away from the game.

“He got a little period before, it was the New Zealand series (that) he went home, worked on some skills. You can see he’s back to where he was before,” Hope said.

“He even added something to his game as well, that wrist spinner has been very, very crucial for us, especially against the lefties.”

Hope admitted South Africa will have some advantage in their next game on Thursday, having played most of their matches in Ahmedabad.

“It’s certainly a factor, but you’ve still got to play the (best) cricket on the day. Most of the guys in our team have played in Ahmedabad several times, most of them are in the IPL and (even) against India on some occasions, so it wouldn’t be alien to us,” he said.

“But still, when you play at a venue for so many games in a particular tournament in a short span of time, you would have an advantage. That is reality. But I don’t think that would deter us from what we’re trying to do, we’re still going to play the same cricket that we’re playing.”

After the game against South Africa, the West Indies will play defending champions India in Kolkata on Sunday.