‘You are going to destroy him if it continues like that’ – Curtly Ambrose wants Shai Hope dropped for third England Test

Curtly Ambrose, the former West Indies speedster, reckons that Shai Hope is terribly out of confidence as far as Test cricket is concerned. The 26-year-old is currently plying his trade in the three-match Test series against England and he hasn’t quite got into his rhythm. In the first two matches in Southampton and Manchester, he got scores of 16, nine, 25 and seven.

The third Test is scheduled to get underway on July 24 in Manchester and Ambrose wants Hope dropped. The veteran reckons that Hope needs a break for him to gain back his confidence. Ambrose mentioned that persisting with the right-hander in the eleven may not be the greatest of ideas.

Something has gone terribly wrong for Shai Hope, says Ambrose 

“He is a much better player than what he is showing at the moment and is obviously very low on confidence. Maybe in the next game we should rest him so he can regain some confidence,” Ambrose was quoted as saying on Sky Sports.

Back in August 2017, Hope got scores of 147 and 118* against England itself at the Headingley in Leeds. On the back of his stupendous knock, the Caribbeans won the game by five wickets. Ambrose feels that Hope’s selection will be a “tough call” in the deciding encounter.

“If you keep playing him and he keeps failing it will only get worse. You are going to destroy him if it continues like that. Something has gone terribly wrong for him since those two centuries at Headingley – he hasn’t done anything really in Test cricket since then,” he stated.

“I like Hope a lot. I think he is a fantastic player but this is not doing his confidence any good. Are West Indies going to go with him again? It’s a tough call.

“I am inclined to give him another go but by bringing someone else in he could get totally away from the game for a little bit and get his mind together,” Ambrose added.

In his last five Tests, Hope has scored a mere 111 runs at a dismal average of 12.33. He last scored a fifty in the format against England in January 2019 at Bridgetown in Barbados.