Hope: 'Sampson certainly one of the cleaner ball strikers I've seen'

West Indies captain Shai Hope has highlighted the inclusion of middle-order basher Quentin Sampson for the T20 World Cup for his clean ball-striking, promise, and the ability to adapt to certain conditions, especially against spin.

Hope also said he will keep his own batting position flexible during the T20 World Cup, and that they will address their dot-ball issues and struggles against spin, which were pivotal in their recent 2-1 series loss to Afghanistan.

Sampson made his CPL and T20 debut only five months ago, and impressed with 241 runs at a strike rate of 151.57 for runners-up Guyana Amazon Warriors, where he was Hope's team-mate. "He's shown that he's had a lot of promise from the first few games that he played in CPL," Hope said about Sampson, who played all the three matches against Afghanistan in Dubai. "[He is] certainly one of the cleaner ball strikers that I've seen in a long time... He also showed the ability to adapt to certain conditions, especially when there's spin involved."

The highlight of West Indies' series against Afghanistan was Sampson's debut knock, when he smacked two sixes off Rashid Khan, en route to a 24-ball 30 in the series opener.

"So, he's one of those ones that I think can definitely play a role in these sort of conditions that we're going to," Hope said. "We saw in his debut game against Afghanistan, he negated the likes of Rashid Khan and some of the most experienced spinners across world cricket. When you've got the likes of Rovman [Powell] and the rest of the guys, who are power-hitters - you still have to have that depth. I think he'll be one that can probably follow the likes of Rovman and those guys, who can finish the innings, and play spin in the middle period."

Speaking on the broader issues of the batting line-up, Hope said: "From a batting standpoint, dot balls have been our Achilles heel for quite some time. And it's important as batters, we limit those dot balls. And we've got power-hitters, guys who score freely and know how to get boundaries… So, if we can limit those dot balls with the boundaries, then we're going to give ourselves the best chance of maximising runs and scoring big totals or chasing anything that teams put on the board.

"Spin would be a threat in those conditions [in India and Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup]. Having said that, it could be completely different. It could be grass, fast and bouncy. Who knows?

"So we've still got to ensure that we're prepared and ready for that… We can always have to change the way we go about playing our innings as batters and as bowlers, how we have to assess certain conditions, where we have to take more pace off, if you've got to take the pitch out of the equation."

Hope slots back into the side for their upcoming series against South Africa, alongside other regulars Roston Chase, Akeal Hosein and Sherfane Rutherford, all of whom were absent during the series against Afghanistan because of commitments at SA20. When asked what he saw his role in the batting line-up as, he cited his flexibility as key to his leadership.

"The best thing for our team is me being as flexible as possible," Hope said. "There's always an option of me going at the top, as well as in the middle, depending on the combinations that we're looking for. But I just think as long as I keep my mind open, I just want to make sure everyone is settling into their respective roles, that they're as comfortable as possible.

"And I'm almost filling in, if that makes sense. Because at the end of the day, if everyone is comfortable, everyone is hitting their straps the way they need to, then all the performances come together and we're a stronger unit. So definitely at the top, I would say the top four [for my batting position] is what we're looking at."

In the bowling attack, Hope said in the absence of the injured Alzarri Joseph, they would look to Shamar Joseph to make up. "We know how much of an impactful player he is in all three formats," Hope said of Alzarri. "He's one of our main fast bowlers in West Indies cricket currently… We've missed him for quite some time now. Having said that… we've also got the firepower of Shamar with his pace as well."

Where Hope slots in, and how Sampson as well as the other returning players fare ahead of the World Cup, remains to be seen. They begin their series against South Africa in Paarl on Tuesday. From there, they travel to Centurion and Johannesburg for the games on January 29 and 31, respectively. A week later, they begin their World Cup campaign against Scotland, on the opening day of the tournament, in Kolkata.