Shai Hope moves into ICC top 10 rankings

West Indies Shai Hope bats during the Cricket World Cup match between Afghanistan and West Indies at Headingley in Leeds, England.
West Indies Shai Hope bats during the Cricket World Cup match between Afghanistan and West Indies at Headingley in Leeds, England.
Associated Press / Rui Vieira, file

West Indies opening batsman, Shai Hope has moved into the top 19 of the ICC One-Day International batting rankings for the first time, following his heavy scoring in the recent series against India.

In the latest rankings released last week, the 26-year-old had jumped five spots to ninth position, to be the highest-placed West Indies batsman.

His upward movement comes on the heels of the three-match series against India where he gathered 222 runs at an average of 111, to top the Caribbean side’s aggregate.

The Barbadian struck an unbeaten 102 in the opening ODI in Chennai, which West Indies won by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Overall, Hope has scored eight ODI centuries and boasts of a career average of 52.75. He has scored four centuries in 2019 at an average of 61.13 — the highest by any player, which has featured in more than 20 matches.

Hope was among several West Indian players enjoying a rise in the ICC rankings. Left hander Shimron Hetmyer, who finished the India series with l80 runs at an average of 60 — including a career best 139 in Chennai — has jumped six places to 19th.

And another exciting batsman, Nicholas Pooran, enjoyed the biggest leap moving 33 places to 30th, following a series, which saw him plunder two half-centuries on the way to 193 runs at an average of 96.50. The trio are the only West Indies players in the top 50 rankings.