DHAKA, CMC – Strokemaker Shai Hope believes West Indies can turn the page on their nightmare Test series against Bangladesh with a good showing in the upcoming one-day series but says the Caribbean side will have to show more consistency.
The Windies suffered an embarrassing 2-0 whitewash in the Test series last weekend, with neither match going beyond three days.
They face Bangladesh in the opening ODI on Sunday here with Hope pointing out that the batsmen needed to take more responsibility, despite the spin-friendly nature of the pitches.
“Consistency is the key. We need to put our hands up and put some big targets on the board, and make sure the bowlers have something to bowl at,” the right-hander said.
“The wickets maybe a bit different here in Bangladesh, but same things apply. We need to maximise the entire innings.”
He added: “As everyone would expect the ball will spin a bit more in Bangladesh. But we have to wait till the day to see what it (pitch) would be like to play.
“We can expect spin and it can be something different, so we have to cover all our bases and be ready for whatever they throw at us.”
Bangladesh used an all-spin attack in the last Test which they won by an innings and 184 runs, with not a single seamer included.
In fact, for the first time, spinners took all the wickets to fall in the series as the first Test in Chittagong followed a similar pattern.
But with the likes of Mustafizur Rahman and captain Mashrafe Mortaza included in the ODI squad, Hope said he was aware the hosts possessed dangerous seamers as well.
“They also have some quality pacers who have been around for a long time. We know what to expect from that part as well,” he pointed out.
Hope is one of the few surviving players from the Test series with several new players having flown in for the shorter format.
Among them are veteran right-hander Marlon Samuels, big-hitting all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite and experienced left-hander Darren Bravo.
Hope said he liked the togetherness of the squad and urged his teammates to make the best use of the one-day practice match against the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI today.
“The team has been gelling quite well since we have also played a few games in India,” Hope explained.
“We have to make sure to get best possible preparation in the practice game tomorrow, leading up to the first ODI.”
West Indies are coming off a 3-1 defeat to India in a five-match series last month, and also lost 2-1 to Bangladesh in the Caribbean earlier this year.
In fact, the Windies have not won an ODI series since they beat Bangladesh in the Caribbean four years ago.
