Sir Garfield Sobers Hails Windies Batsman Shai Hope

Windies Cricket team legend Garfield Sobers has hailed Shai Hope saying that he is a class batsman ahead of the three-match Test series against England in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, as per reports, Sobers had spent a few weeks with the Windies cricketers helping them with batting advice.

Speaking on which Windies player possess potential to be a world-class batsman, Garfield Sobers without even thinking named Shai Hope. Hope has done well recent times been their vital cog in the batting order.

“Shai Hope. I saw him when the president [of Cricket West Indies] asked me to come down and do some coaching with the team for four or five weeks. The first time I saw him, I said ‘pfft, this is class! This is class,” Sober said.

It is important not to change a player’s technique

In addition to, Garfield Sobers strongly feels it is important not to change the technique of a player too much while coaching.

“He had one shot that I didn’t want to take away from him because he played it all the time and that was hitting the off-spinners, trying to hit them through mid-off and that kind of thing,” the 82-year-old said.

“Never take away what a player has, try to help him with the others or try to help him to play that shot better. After about two or three weeks watching him, I just said to him, ‘Shai, that’s your shot, don’t lose it, don’t let anybody take that away from you but I can just give you another string to your bow.

“There are only two men behind square [on the legside], that’s a big area for two men to control. If you went over to the off stump a little bit, do you know how many runs you could score through there? They can’t put anybody else there, only two. Try it, if you can’t do it, put it away, play the way you play but just give it a try in the nets, practise it and see how it works for you’.

“But the coaches today just say, ‘no, bad shot. Don’t do that. Do this and do that’. I believe some of the coaching now is wrong, I don’t know why,” he continued.

In conclusion, Garfield Sobers feels England would be a tough opponent in the Caribbean. The visitors have won just one series in the last 50 years.