'Red-ball batting is definitely my favourite part of the game but the runs and the stats aren't exactly where we want them to be, but I'm working towards that. I can't pinpoint anything (wrong) at this stage, because I wouldn't say my preparation has changed.'
West Indies batsman Shai Hope is confident of replicating his 2017 heroics against England in the upcoming three-Test series but admitted that his stats in the longest format haven't exactly been the best for a while.
Hope hasn't scored a ton since the 2017 Headingley Test heroics when he scored centuries in both the innings to lead his side to a much-cherished victory against England, chasing a daunting 322-run target.
"I just need to have the continued belief in myself, back my ability because I know I can get it done, it's not like I haven't done it before," Hope told media via a video conference at Old Trafford ahead of the series starting July 8.
West Indies are preparing for their first international cricket series since March this year as sporting activities came to a screeching halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hope says he has it in him to do well again when West Indies take on England in a bio-secure environment.
"It's a case of making sure I make the most of these opportunities and do whatever I can to make the team win. Obviously, you're going to be hard on yourself, especially when you know you can get something done but it's not really portraying on the stats," he said.
The 26-year-old has an impressive record in ODI cricket, where he has scored 3289 runs from 78 matches at an average of 52.20.
In the last three years, Hope has made eight centuries and 13 fifties in ODIs at an average of 57 - the best figures by a wicket-keeper in the West Indies cricket history.
Last year, he scored 1,345 runs at an average of 61.13 - including a memorable match-winning ton against India in Chennai but he has not enjoyed consistent success in Test cricket.
He wants to improve on that count.
"Red-ball batting is definitely my favourite part of the game but the runs and the stats aren't exactly where we want them to be, but I'm working towards that. I can't pinpoint anything (wrong) at this stage, because I wouldn't say my preparation has changed.
"I don't think it's anything major when it comes to my technical side of the game. There are certain things you can tweak, as you go along. I would probably say it's more of a mental thing. Hopefully, I can turn it around and move on from there," Hope said.
Assistant coach Roddy Estwick said West Indies need Hope to translate his white-ball form to red-ball cricket quickly if the visitors have to put England under pressure in the series.
"He's been outstanding in the white-ball format. We now need to get him now to transfer that form he's carrying into (red) ball cricket,” Estwick said.
"He hasn't made a century in Test cricket since the back-to-back centuries at Headingley, so we need Shai now."
Estwick said Hope's form is important for the West Indies' batting to click.
"He's a lot more experienced, we need him to be ready, we need the batting to really click in England because if the batting clicks, it gives us a chance really with the bowling we've got," he said.
"And once we can put scores on the board, we can become a lot more competitive. So Shai is very, very important to us. He knows that, he's now one of the senior members of the group so he's really got to stick his hand up and gives us some really world-class performances."
West Indies will have two inter-squad warm-up matches in Manchester before they travel to Southampton for the series-opener.
The three-day match will be played from June 23 and the four-day match from June 29.
