Veteran cricket commentator Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira believes the time has come for the West Indies to streamline their leadership structure by appointing an all-format captain, pointing to Shai Hope as the ideal candidate to take over the Test reins following Kraigg Brathwaite’s recent departure.
Perreira, whose voice has echoed through West Indies cricket for over five decades, says that with Daren Sammy already installed as the region’s first all-format head coach, it would be “convenient and logical” for Cricket West Indies (CWI) to mirror that approach with the team’s captaincy.
"Throughout the Caribbean, people have been trying to work out who may be the best person to appoint as the red-ball captain. My own feeling is, keep it simple. If you have an all-format coach in Daren Sammy—white-ball and red-ball—simplify it. Ask Hope to also be your Test captain," Perreira said during a recent Sports Reporter Round Table.
Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira
Perreira believes the all-format appeal or leadership continuity that Hope could offer would reinforce a synergy between Hope, Sammy, and Director of Cricket Miles Bascombe could provide the West Indies with the kind of stability and alignment that has long been lacking.
"I think it will work in unison with the coach, and it will work nicely with Miles Bascombe,” he added.
While Hope has not featured in a Test match since 2021, Perreira believes the current ODI and T20 skipper is the best man for the job.
"Hope is highly respected; he’s an ultimate pro. He goes about his life in a very orderly way, with no roro stories about him, and I think he will make an excellent and long-term captain because he’s young enough," Perreira opined.
Shai Hope.
Hope, 31, was recently elevated to the T20 captaincy, replacing Rovman Powell, and has already been leading the ODI team. However, his Test credentials remain a point of debate. In 38 Tests, he has scored 1,726 runs at an average of 25.01, with just two centuries—both famously scored at Headingley in 2017.
Perreira acknowledges that Hope’s Test record must improve if he is to justify a return and leadership in the format.
"He started brilliantly. One can always remember him at Headingley, he and Brathwaite in that partnership that helped to beat England. But he will know that he has to push up that Test average into the middle 30s," Perrira noted.