Hodge and Hope are adherents of conventional Test cricket. Hodge joined the fray in the ninth over when Brandon King was dismissed with the score on 13. He was studious in defence early in his innings and after 30 balls he had only 10 runs to his name. He quickened the pace somewhat mainly by pouncing on a number of short deliveries. His pull shot was something to behold. He seems to possess an almost uncanny ability to detect the short ball before getting in position quickly and executing it faultlessly. That, and the cut shot behind point were his principal scoring strokes in a masterclass of batting as the situation demanded. He is not a flashy player and does not give the appearance of ease at the crease the way the batters who are thought of as hugely talented usually do.

Hope, on the other hand, does. The Barbadian has long been regarded as supremely gifted. He has been a prolific scorer of runs in the 50-over game and is now showing signs of replicating that level of productivity in the longest format.

Hope is a great batter to watch, with one of the more elegant cover drives in the game. He punched a pleasing drive through mid-off for four off the third ball he faced but he too progressed serenely. He does not wait on the short ball like Hodge does. He prefers the drive through the off side and working the ball off his legs for his scoring strokes.

https://garfieldrobinson1.substack.com/p/three-innings-three-methods-one-lesson