Curtly Ambrose Reckons West Indies 'Could Destroy' Out-Of-Form Shai Hope If He Plays The 3rd Test

Curtly Ambrose, West Indian fast bowling legend, reckons that the visitors must rest out-of-form batsman Shai Hope for the series-decider in Manchester as he feels repeated failures ‘might destroy’ him.

Shai Hope was the hero for the West Indies during their 2017 visit to England where he scored back-to-back hundreds in Headingley to seal a memorable victory for the visitors.

But, since then it has been a real struggle for Hope in Test match cricket and it has been accentuated in the ongoing series where he has registered scores of 25,7, 16 and 9.

Ambrose said that something has gone ‘terribly wrong’ for the Barbadian batsman since his twin hundreds at Leeds in 2017.

“He is a much better player than what he is showing at the moment and is obviously very low on confidence. Maybe in the next game we should rest him so he can regain some confidence,” Curtly Ambrose told ‘Sky Sports’.

“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,” he said

“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 added.

How much longer can Shai Hope's Headingley opus sustain him in the West Indies Test side?https://t.co/4oqwXV7OXQ #ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/DtfQJtnKDM

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 19, 2020

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‘It’s a tough call’- Curtly Ambrose on West Indies persisting with Shai Hope for the 3rd Test

Curtly Ambrose said that while he is inclined to give Shai Hope another chance, he feels resting the Barbadian for the third Test will actually help him get away from the game and get his mind together.

“I like 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 said.

“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,” he added.

The 3rd and final Test between West Indies and England will start from July 24, and it will be interesting to see what route does Jason Holder and the management take as far as Shai Hope is concerned.

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