WEST Indies captain Shai Hope said his unit showed the signs of an elite team when they chased over 320 runs to win the first One Day International against England at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua on Sunday.
West Indies will hunt another victory in the second ODI on Wednesday at the same venue in a day/night match from 1.30 pm.
Hope said elite teams regularly chase down scores of 300-plus and West Indies must deliver in those run chases if they want to be considered a top-rated team in world cricket.
"A lot of times we find ourselves only winning games when we chase 180, 190, 200 max, so we have to make it on a more consistent basis," Hope told Cricket West Indies media on Tuesday.
"If you want to be an elite team you've got to be chasing scores of 300-plus...this is the perfect opportunity for us to build from a game like this. It certainly should give our batters some confidence, seeing that we could chase scores like that."
In the first ODI, West Indies chased down a competitive 326 to win by four wickets.
Batting first, England posted 325 in exactly 50 overs, with Harry Brook leading the way with 71 off 72 deliveries. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie was the most successful bowler for West Indies, with 2/49 in ten overs.
In response, Hope struck 109 not out off 83 balls to steer West Indies to 326/6 in 48.5 overs. An 89-run sixth-wicket partnership between Hope and Romario Shepherd help set up the victory after West Indies were restricted to 213/5 in the 39th over. Shepherd hit a blistering 48 off 28 balls before vice-captain Alzarri Joseph (two not out) and Hope got West Indies home.
"Any time you cross the line, the main focus has to be to win," Hope said. "Every time you play cricket games for West Indies, it is so much more than just development. Yes, it is a big thing for us, especially now, in this particular situation that we are faced with, but as you said, we are one-up in the series (and) we got a great chance of winning the series."
Openers Alick Athanaze and Brandon King laid a solid platform in the first ODI, putting on more than 100 runs for the first wicket. Hope praised the openers for their effort, but is concerned about losing wickets in bunches.
"The start was very good, something we speak about time and time again. The opening partnership was amazing. But we need to make sure we don't lose those wickets in clusters going forward, just try to build on that start we had, especially in a series like this. When you have the upper hand, you've got to make sure you replicate those solid batting performances and learn from your mistakes."
England were on course to post close to 400 after getting off to a rollicking start, but the West Indies bowlers limited the visitors.
"After the start that they got, we needed someone to come back and control things a bit in the middle. Motie did that in the last couple overs of the powerplay. It was great that we did not let that score go from 325 to 370 – then it would be a whole different ball game."
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