West Indies' captain Shai Hope hits a four against England during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda. (AP)
West Indies captain Shai Hope led from the front as his unbeaten century helped West Indies clinch a thriller in the first ODI against England at Antigua.
Hope sealed a dramatic victory for West Indies and scored unbeaten 109 off 83 balls was his 16th ODI century and the fastest of his career. Hope crunched three sixes in the 49th over bowled by Sam Curran to help West Indies side chase down England’s total of 325 with seven deliveries to spare.
Scenes in Antigua after the win!🇦🇬#WIvENG #WIHomeforChristmas pic.twitter.com/H68vzqu0Yo
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) December 3, 2023
Following the win, the West Indies captain credited the chat with former India captain MS Dhoni.
“A very, very famous person, MS Dhoni – we had a chat a while ago, and he was saying, ‘You always have a lot more time than you think,'” Hope said in the post-match press conference.
“That’s one thing that has stuck with me throughout the years I’ve been playing ODI cricket.”
Hope took over as West Indies’ full-time ODI captain earlier this year and while he oversaw an unsuccessful attempt at World Cup qualification in Zimbabwe.
It was also the West Indies’ second highest successful men’s ODI run chase in their history, just five runs short than the 331/5 they managed when defeating Ireland in Malahide in 2019.
England scored an impressive 325 all out in 50 overs at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
The total looked to be enough as West Indies was reduced to 213-5 in the 39th over but Hope’s unbeaten 109 off 83 balls and Shepherd’s 28-ball 48 underpinned a remarkable home triumph with 326-6 in 48.5 overs
Hope also hailed the contribution of Romario Shepherd, with who he had an 89-run stand for the sixth wicket.
“He was amazing. He’s one of those guys you can depend on and he’s continued to show his worth at this level… we’re starting the series on a high and the aim is to repeat this in the second game,” he said.
There were positives for England. Harry Brook top-scored with 71 off 72 balls while opener Phil Salt amassed 45 off 28. Curran did better with the bat than ball, hitting 38 off 26, and Brydon Carse scored 31 not out off 21 to lift England beyond 300 after a middle-order wobble.
Rehan Ahmed (2 for 40) was the pick of England’s attack but it was unable to pin down a side which failed to qualify for the World Cup.
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