Hope pleased, but wants continued focus

MUMBAI, India:

Shai Hope has delivered a stark warning to his West Indies teammates after their 30-run victory over England at the Wankhede Stadium, stating that there are no second chances in World Cup cricket.

The West Indies captain cut a satisfied figure after watching his side topple England in Wednesday's ICC T20 showdown, making it two wins from two in the group C action.

But with qualification margins razor-thin, Hope made it clear that complacency will not be tolerated.

"This is World Cup cricket. It's not like a bilateral series where you can go one down and then come back and win 3-2," Hope said. "You've got to make sure you try to execute as precisely as you can, especially from the jump. There's not really a second or third game that you could come back and hope for the best."

The Caribbean side delivered a polished performance, but their captain is already looking ahead.

"I can't really put too much stress and emphasis on the past. The results that we've had previously are something we can't necessarily control. Now we've got to focus on what's in front of us."

What's in front of them is a group stage campaign that suddenly looks promising.

"It's just nice to get two wins in our first two games. The aim is to continue that trend. Hopefully, we can get nice, smooth sailing through the rest of the group stage games."

COLLECTIVE EFFORT

The win was built on collective effort, but one man drew special praise from his captain, Sherfane Rutherford, who bludgeoned an unbeaten 76 from just 42 deliveries, to rescue the regional side's innings. His innings contained seven sixes.

Rutherford's impact did not happen by accident, Hope revealed.

"He's always a hard worker, especially when it comes to his batting. He is always very diligent with the way he goes about his preparation. He would bat from the start of the session all the way through to the end if he's really working on something.

"I don't think that has changed from the time he came into the team all the way till now. It's just nice to see when guys are putting in that hard work in the nets, that preparation, that the success follows," Hope said. "It was good to see the batters putting their hands up."

Hope also had high praise for his bowlers, including countryman Roston Chase, who came into the team to bolster their stocks.

"Roston is one of those utility players you can call on anytime. We brought him in as a tactical change with all the left-handers England have in their team, and that decision paid off for us today, as Roston contributed with the bat and the ball."

- CMC