Hope Spearheads Batting Effort As Windies Shine

Mon, Oct 16, '17

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, (CMC) – Batsmen Shai Hope, Roston Chase and Kraigg Brathwaite all gathered half-centuries as West Indies made a bright start to their tour of Zimbabwe here Sunday.

Opting to bat first on the opening day of the three-day tour match against Zimbabwe A, the Caribbean side ended on 301 for six with Hope top-scoring with 85, Chase stroking 79 and Brathwaite chipping in with 53.

Kyle Hope, Shai’s older brother, missed out on a half-century with 42 while seamer Michael Chinouya, who played his only two Tests against New Zealand last year, was the best bowler with two for 55.

In the only warm-up match before the first Test starting next Saturday, West Indies made the most of the outing with their main batsmen getting among the runs.

They lost left-hander Kieran Powell cheaply for one with a mere seven runs on the board in the day’s fifth over but Brathwaite and Kyle Hope posted 87 for the second wicket to repair the innings.