Hetmyer ''very dangerous'' at No. 3: Hope

Kolkata, Feb 7 (PTI) Promoting Shimron Hetmyer to No. 3 is already paying rich dividends and the "freeness" of his batting makes him a "very dangerous cricketer", West Indies skipper Shai Hope said after their clinical 35-run win over Scotland here on Saturday.

The two-time champions recovered from 58 for 2 to post 182 for 5, riding on Hetmyer's explosive 36-ball 64 studded with six sixes and two fours.

"When he first came on the scene, he's been just as exciting, just as dangerous," Hope said after their win at the Eden Gardens.

"The experience that he would have now, along with that freeness that he's playing with, I think he's going to be a very dangerous cricketer throughout this tournament. We need him to be," Hope said.

Hetmyer's role changed during the recent South Africa series when he was promoted to No. 3, and the move has brought immediate returns with a string of 40-plus scores.

"I"m glad that he accepted the challenge and it's great to see him playing the way Hetti normally plays," Hope said.

"He's been in some tremendous form. I think his last four innings have been 40-plus scores. We asked him to go out in number three position and show a bit more responsibility and he's taken it with both arms.

"Great to see him thriving in that position, hopefully he can continue throughout the tournament to give us that nice start that we asked for." Hope also hailed bowling all-rounder Romario Shepherd, who grabbed a maiden five-wicket haul that included a hat-trick and four wickets in five balls.

"He's one of those guys who's always willing to learn and improve. He came on to the scene probably more of a bowling-all-rounder, but you can see what he's done.

"He's transformed his game with the bat, one of the most dangerous finishers in world cricket. Again, he's always ready to put his hand up whenever the team requires it, whether it's bat or ball. He's a very good yorker bowler, I would say, and it's just about confidence. He's been bowling really well in the last couple of series, even with a new ball.

"He's been opening the ball a few times for us and picking up a couple of wickets. So he's kind of versatile for us in the middle overs, especially. It's great to see him starting the tournament with a bang and hopefully he can continue doing the same," he said.

WI look ahead ========== Having endured a lean phase since their 2016 title triumph at this venue, including a shock loss to Scotland in the 2022 edition in Australia, Hope said the side is focused only on the present.

"The main focus right now is to start the tournament well and continue the momentum for as long as we can, see how deep we can go in the tournament. Hopefully, at the end we can be lifting the trophy again, similarly to what the guys did back in 2016.

"But yeah, we can't hide from the truth. We haven't had the success that we would have liked in the last two bilateral series, but again, the main focus is here in this World Cup. Put the past in the past, and let's make sure we do the business here in India," he said. PTI TAP UNG