Ahead of the third and final Test in Manchester, Curtly Ambrose, West Indian fast bowling legend, said the tourists must rest out-of-form batsman Shai Hope for the series-decider against England because the repeated failures “might destroy a fantastic player”.
Hope was the hero in West Indies’ the Wisden trophy win in their last outing, as he scored back-to-back hundreds in Headingley to help his team to record a memorable Test series victory in 2017.
But this time in the ongoing three-match Test series, the batsman has struggled to even breach the 30-run mark in his four innings as he managed just 16, 9, 25 and 7 in the first two Tests against England and Ambrose feels it may be wise to rest him in the final Test at Emirates Old Trafford.
The pace great believes that the Windies should not risk “destroying” Hope by continually playing him despite his struggle to score runs in the Test format, saying the 26-year-old needs some time to get back that confidence in his batting to bounce back to his form.
Ambrose told Sky Sports: “Something has gone terribly wrong for him since those two centuries at Headingley - he hasn't done anything really in Test cricket since then. He is a much better player than what he is showing at the moment and is obviously very low on confidence.”
He further added, “Maybe in the next game we should rest him so he can regain some confidence. If you keep playing him and he keeps failing it will only get worse. You are going to destroy him if it continues like that. I like to Hope a lot. I think he is a fantastic player but this is not doing his confidence any good. Are West Indies going to go with him again? It's a tough call.”
Ambrose signed off by saying, “I am inclined to give him another go but by bringing someone else in he could get totally away from the game for a little bit and get his mind together.”
(With Sky Sports Inputs)
