Shai Hope will play Test cricket for the first time in almost four years, in the first Test against Australia. But why has he been recalled now?
How has Hope fared in first-class cricket?
One of the highlights from the squad announcement for this series on June 10 was the recall of Hope, whose last Test came in 2021. In 38 matches in the format, he has scored 1,726 runs at an average of 25.01, with the standout performance his twin tons at Headingley in 2017.
On Tuesday (June 24), Hope was then named in the playing XI, a day ahead of the first Test against Australia. He will also take the keeping gloves, for only the third Test in his career. He is a regular wicketkeeper in the white-ball formats, though.
In his time out of the Test side, Hope has not been overly active in first-class cricket either; playing two for Yorkshire and two for Barbados since his last Test match. At this point in his career, Hope also has the responsibility of captaining West Indies in the ODI and T20I formats.
“It's not something I would say I was looking forward to in terms of, 'I have to play Test cricket again',” Hope told ESPNCricinfoahead of the first Test. “But if the opportunity came, I would always be willing to take it.” He had also reportedly turned down a return to Test cricket for the Australia tour in 2024.
Between his words, and his lack of recent red-ball game time, Hope does not cut the figure of a player who is itching to be recalled to Test cricket. Windies head coach Daren Sammy even said that it was a disservice to players for West Indies cricket to “glorifying an average of 25 in Test cricket,” coincidentally almost exactly what Hope averages in the format.
All this only points towards there being virtually no hope of a recall. So why then, has he returned?
The West Indies' push for Test cricket
The West Indies Test team has been on a downward spiral for well over half a decade now, with much of their struggles attributed to talented players opting to become T20 franchise specialists, leaving long-format cricket behind.
Last October, Cricket West Indies (CWI) amended their selection rules to allow players to be picked for the national side, even if they had not played the corresponding format in domestic cricket. It meant that players could be selected for the Test team without playing the regional four-day Championship, for example.
CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe claimed the change was made as the old rule “could not stand up to the current intensity of cricket schedules”.
In February 2025, soon after the confirmation that Daren Sammy would take over as all-format head coach ahead of the 2025-27 WTC cycle, CWI vice-president Azim Bassarath told the Trinidad Express, “Some of the T20 players said some time ago that they want to play Test cricket, and we want them to do so also.”
“So let us see if the coach can influence them and get them to come and play Test cricket. I am very heartened whenever I hear those superstars say they want to play Test cricket.
“We are hoping that Daren will pull through and get some of them to come and put on the white clothes, get on the field, and play a few Test matches for the West Indies.”
Essentially, there seems to have been a push from the West Indies' cricketing authorities to encourage their white-ball players to take up Test cricket as well. And Hope, naturally, is among the foremost candidates for this initiative as one of the standout ODI players not only in the West Indies, but in the world. He was even shortlisted for the Test captaincy, but requested not to be considered due to concerns over his workload.
Also read: Headingley hundreds to Barbadian basher: The seven shapeshifting years of Shai Hope
His recall boils down to the lack of first-class talent coming through the West Indies system, something Sammy has already criticised, combined with the region's desire to have their best players playing red-ball cricket. It has worked for some, like Hope, as well as new captain Roston Chase, who is playing his first Test in two years, and Brandon King, who will make his Test debut after 115 white-ball internationals.
For other talents like Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer, the endeavour does not seem to have been as successful. But if West Indies want their Test team to grow, this could be a step in the right direction.
Read more: Explained: Why Nicholas Pooran has retired from international cricket aged 29
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