T20 World Cup: Hetmyer was here, and so was Shepherd

West Indies ride Hetmyer’s good form, Shepherd’s hat-trick to victory against Scotland 

West Indies 182 for 5 (Hetmyer 64, King 35; Currie 2-23) beat Scotland 147 all out (Berrington 42, Bruce 35; Shepherd 5-20) by 35 runs 

Shimron Hetmyer did not arrive in India with the West Indies team earlier this week after he was left stranded with visa issues in South Africa following their T20 International series. The left-hander, however, turned up in time to deliver a player-of-the-match performance, which got the Caribbean side off to a winning start at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

“That part is irrelevant; he was here,” Captain Shai Hope beamed in the post-match presser. Hetmyer beat Chris Gayle’s record for the fastest fifty (22 balls) by a West Indian at the World Cup on his way to a 36-ball 64. West Indies’ new No.3 strode to the crease with his side in a scuffle at 54 for 1 in the ninth. In his knocks of 75 and 48 in that position against South Africa, the Guyanese struck at 192.2.

“Hetty, again he's been in some tremendous form; he's been consistent. We asked him to go out in the number three position and show a bit more responsibility, and he's taken it [on], as you can see,” Hope continued. 

“We know how good of a player he is, and I don't think we were maximizing his true potential all the way down [the order]. So we just asked him to do the job. I'm glad that he accepted the challenge, and it's great to see him playing the way Hetty normally plays. Hopefully he can continue throughout the tournament and give us that nice start that we asked for.”

Hetmyer shared in an innings-defining 37-ball 81-run third-wicket stand alongside Rovman Powell, who scored 24 from 14, to lift the West Indies to 182 for 5 from their 20 overs. Left-arm seamer Brad Currie led the Scottish attack with 2 for 23. 

West Indies’ defense was anything but smooth sailing. After restricting Scotland to 37 for 3 in the 6th over, skipper Richie Berrington and Tom Bruce (35) put on 78 from 47 deliveries for the fourth wicket. When Jason Holder (3/30) removed Berrington for 42 in the 14th, Scotland needed 68 off 40 balls. 

“[Romario Shepherd] is one of those guys who's always willing to learn and improve. He's always ready to put his hand up whenever the team requires him, whether it's bat or ball,” Hope said.

Today, it was with the ball that the West Indies needed Shepherd, and he responded with a five-wicket haul (5/20), which included a hat-trick in the 17th. He removed Matthew Cross (11), Michael Leask and Oliver Davidson, both without scoring, to snatch Scotland’s hope at 133 for 8 before they were dismissed for 147 in 18.5 overs. 

Hope continued, “It's just about executing the team plans…[and] about confidence. Shepherd's been bowling really well in the last couple of series. He's kind of versatile for us in the middle overs especially, and it's great to see him starting to work, and hopefully he can continue doing the same.”