West Indies wicket-keeper batsman Shai Hope is among a four-man shortlist for the 2022 ICC Men’s One-Day International Player of the Year award.
Apart from him, Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Australian leg-spinner Adam Sampa and Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikandar Raza are included in this list.
Hope, who made his ODI debut six years ago and since 2017, has finished as the highest run-scorer in ODIs for the Windies every year.
This year was no different and the 29-year-old was once again one of the few stars to shine for West Indies in a difficult year where they won just 5 of the 21 ODIs they played.
Hope did not get off the greatest of starts in 2022 but in typical fashion started to grind out runs in the latter half. He finished the year with 709 runs, which include three hundred and two fifties, at an average of 35.45.
Shai Hope was often the lone warrior for West Indies in ODIs this year and as a result, four of his five fifty-plus scores this year came in losses. The one that didn’t – his 119* off 130 against the Netherlands – fetched him the Player of the Match in the first game of the three-match series in May-June 2022.
Chasing 241 in Amstelveen in a rain-reduced 45-overs-a-side game, Hope displayed the immaculate temperament he is known for and batted through till the end.
He was part of two 100-run partnerships, first with Shamarh Brooks for the first wicket and then with Brandon King for the unbeaten fourth wicket. Between the two partnerships was a mini-collapse but Hope weathered the storm to guide West Indies to victory.
Hope has so far played 99 ODIs where he has scored 4308 runs at a high average of 48.95. 21 fifties and 13 centuries belong to his score bag.