We’re committed to performing on the biggest stage – Hope

KOLKATA, India (CMC):

West Indies captain Shai Hope has given the assurance that his team is fully locked in as they bid to lift the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for an unprecedented third time.

The Windies ended the preliminary rounds with an unbeaten record after defeating Italy by 42 runs yesterday to finish top of Group C with a maximum eight points from their four matches.

Scores: West Indies 165-6 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 75, Sherfane Rutherford 24 not out; Crishan Kalugamage 2-25, Ben Manenti 2-37). Italy 123 in 18 overs (Ben Manenti 26, JJ Smuts 24; Shamar Joseph 4-30, Matthew Forde 3-19, Gudakesh Motie 2-24).

Speaking at a post-match press conference, Hope, who was named Player of the Match after top scoring with 75 off 46 balls, said each player had embraced his respective role and was committed to doing what was necessary for the team to be successful.

He said there was an aura that permeated the camp, pointing out that everyone was on the same page as they headed into the Super Eights where they will face Zimbabwe, South Africa and India.

“There’s a different level of enthusiasm and focus when it comes to a World Cup. This is a big tournament, this is the biggest stage and we all want to be there at the end.

“We know what it takes to get there and if you want to be the best team at the end of the tournament then you have to ensure that you’re doing the necessary things to give yourself the best chance of lifting that trophy,” Hope said.

While admitting there were areas that needed to be improved, Hope said he was generally satisfied with the win over Italy.

One game at a time

He said it was important for them not to look too far ahead even though their focus was on winning the tournament.

“We’re just taking it one game at a time. We have to make sure we’re playing our best cricket regardless of the opposition we’re playing against. We saw the threat that Italy posed in the competition, so there were no stones left unturned here today.

“We played another good game of cricket, probably could improve on some areas, but I’m still happy with the way the guys are going and the momentum is going in the right direction,” Hope maintained.

“There’s always some area that you can improve on in every single game. We can’t look too far ahead; we’re making sure that we focus on what is in front of us, not necessarily harping too much on the areas that we fell short in, just about giving the guys the confidence that they duly need, especially going into the crunch time of the tournament when you really need to be firing.

“But we also know that in any sport, everyone is not going to fire every single day. So especially in a team sport, the important thing is when one of your teammates is down, the other guys have to ensure that we pull them up and pull some slack for them. That’s the way how tournament play works, especially in a big tournament like this,” the skipper added.