There is a statistic about Shai Hope that sounds almost too neat to be true: he averages 50-plus both in the top three and in the middle order (4-7). What makes it more remarkable is the fact there is no other batter who has done it. Across more than 5000 ODIs, Hope is the only player to average 50-plus at No. 1-3 and No. 4-7, with at least 50 innings in each position. And unlike most batters who make the journey upwards from the middle order, Hope got there by moving down.
In the case of batters who have played substantial cricket in both roles, usually the journey has been from the middle order to the top, where they had an opportunity to make a greater impact. Hope went the other way. He sacrificed a secure top-order role to plug a hole in a West Indies middle order that had lost the likes of Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder. In doing so, he has also transformed one of the more important aspects of his batting: his game against spin.
Hope’s move down the order was not without cost. West Indies had a stable top order once Hope hit his stride in ODIs in 2018 until the fall of 2022, but his departure from it has coincided with a steep decline in their top-order numbers, which now sit at the bottom among Full Member teams. The gain, however, has been substantial in the middle order.
From the low of 2018-22, West Indies’ middle-order batting average and strike rate have both risen since 2023, an anomaly among the 12 Full Member sides. Since 2023, when Hope first moved to the middle order in South Africa, West Indies’ middle-order numbers are comparable to that of heavyweights India. Hope has been central to that transformation, contributing 37% of the runs while batting in 26% of the middle-order innings and hitting six hundreds. Without him, the rest of the middle order averages 29.39 – only around three points higher than in 2018-22.
WI top & middle order story
Hope moving to the middle-order has resulted in a trade-off in the average at the top for West Indies ©Cricbuzz
Among batters with at least 75 ODI innings since Hope’s debut, the difference between his average in wins and defeats is 46.64, just a few decimal points behind Sikandar Raza’s 46.97. The numbers underline just how much his output has come to matter to West Indies.
West Indies’ results correspond directly with Shai Hope’s batting output ©Cricbuzz
A different Hope against spin
The subcontinent has never been foreign territory for Hope. Among 73 visiting batters to score 1000-plus ODI runs in Asia, nobody averages more than his 68.17. It is not built around success in one country either: he averages 123 in Bangladesh, 74.10 in India, 50.66 in Pakistan and 45 in Sri Lanka. His seven hundreds in Asia are behind only Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers, with 10 each, and Chris Gayle, with eight.
Highest avg for visiting batters in Asia (1000+ runs)
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD Hope | 31 | 1568 | 68.17 | 78.36 | 7 | 6 |
| AB de Villiers | 43 | 2106 | 60.17 | 98.41 | 10 | 7 |
| G Kirsten | 45 | 2265 | 59.6 | 77.75 | 5 | 16 |
| DJ Mitchell | 29 | 1594 | 59.03 | 98.69 | 6 | 6 |
| CG Greenidge | 22 | 1057 | 58.72 | 67.41 | 2 | 7 |
| MEK Hussey | 28 | 1129 | 56.45 | 88.61 | 2 | 8 |
| MJ Clarke | 47 | 1904 | 54.4 | 76.74 | 4 | 12 |
| JE Root | 40 | 1813 | 53.32 | 84.99 | 3 | 15 |
| MG Bevan | 59 | 2101 | 52.52 | 76.56 | 1 | 15 |
| ML Hayden | 26 | 1255 | 52.29 | 82.62 | 1 | 10 |
That success is particularly counterintuitive because Hope’s numbers against spin have improved even though he now encounters it earlier in his innings. As a top-order batter, he was often already set by the time spin was introduced. In the middle order, he is far more likely to confront spin soon after walking in.
From his debut in November 2016 until the end of 2022, Hope averaged 78.91 against spin. Since the start of 2023, when he moved down to the middle order, he traded roughly 20 points of average for 21 points of strike rate, and in the middle order that’s the trade you want. He struck at 68.75 against spin in the first period, the lowest among Full Member batters who faced at least 750 balls of spin. Since 2023, that has surged to 90.19, the seventh-best mark.
The improvement has come through both strike rotation and boundary hitting, aided by the fact that the middle overs are played with only four fielders outside the circle.
His attacking intent has changed markedly too. Until the end of 2022, Hope attacked 38.8% of balls from spin. Since 2023, that has risen to 49.1%. He is also going aerial more often, with the proportion of shots hit in the air against spin increasing from 3.8% to 7.2%.
Crucially, the extra aggression has not come at the expense of quality. His average while playing an attacking shot against spin has risen from 69.93 to 74.20, while the strike rate has climbed from 112.91 to 135.40. The timing quality of those attacking shots has improved from 15.9% to 39.3%.
Hope while playing an attacking shot
Hope’s extra aggression has not come at the cost of quality ©Cricbuzz
The technical change behind that improvement is a stronger back-foot game.
In his top-order days, Hope was predominantly a front-foot player, taking a big stride towards the ball. He played spin off the back foot on only 36.3% of deliveries. Since 2023, that share has risen to 46.9%.
Cricbuzz has tracking data available for 52 of the 71 ODIs Hope faced spin from 2016-22 and 31 of his 41 ODIs since 2023. Those samples provide a clear indication of the change. Against good-length spin deliveries (4-6m), his average interception point has moved from 2.10m from the stumps to 1.86m, a reduction of 24 cms attesting the back-foot prowess.
A changed back-foot game has catapulted Hope’s improved attacking numbers ©Cricbuzz
The effect is especially visible in his strike rotation. Hope’s non-boundary strike rate against good-length spin has risen from 40.46 to 48.68, with the bigger jump coming in the shorter part of that good-length zone, between 5m and 6m. His non-boundary strike rate there has risen from 41.72 to 59.15.
Across the length bands, his strike rate has increased by around 13% against full and good-length deliveries, but the most dramatic improvement has come against shorter lengths. If strike rotation has driven the improvement against good length, it is boundary hitting, enabled by the stronger back-foot game, that has transformed his output against shorter deliveries.
Hope SR across different length bands
Hope’s strike-rate has shot up significantly against the shorter length bands ©Cricbuzz
Against balls shorter than 6m, his strike rate has risen from 107.21 to 153.23, a 43% increase, while his boundary rate has almost doubled from 9.13% to 16.13%. His boundary profile has changed too: from 14 fours and five sixes in 2016-22, he has gone to six fours and 14 sixes since 2023.
The strongest gains have come against short-of-length deliveries in the 6-7m zone, where his strike rate has jumped from 92.7 to 131, an increase of 41.3%. Slog sweeps, pulls and slogging across the line have been particularly effective, with his collective strike rate on those shots more than doubling from 189.47 to 400.
The slog sweep has become a particularly productive weapon. Hope averaged 24.5 at a strike rate of 196 on the shot before 2023; since then, he averages 41.5 at a strike rate of 218, while timing it well more than half the time.
Hope’s move down the order has therefore plugged a hole for West Indies, but it has created one at the top. The team’s top-order decline is the clearest cost of the decision.
Yet the middle-order numbers explain why West Indies have persisted with it. Hope has not simply moved down the order and continued batting in the same manner. He has adapted his game to the demands of entering against spin, becoming more proactive, rotating strike more efficiently and, most significantly, developing a back-foot game that gives him access to shorter lengths.
That evolution could prove particularly valuable in the coming stages of West Indies’ qualification campaign. Tackling spin will be important at venues such as Paarl and Gqeberha if they reach the 2027 World Cup in South Africa. Before that, they will have to navigate the qualifiers, most likely in Zimbabwe early next year, where they faltered last time and where spin is likely to play a significant role.
For a West Indies side trying to solve a recurring problem against spin, Hope’s reinvention in the middle order offers more than a replacement for the runs lost at the top. It has given them a batter equipped to confront spin at precisely the stage of an innings when they need him most.
All stats correct till end of Zimbabwe vs Australia 3rd ODI on Sep 20.