ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

November 5, 2021

Shimron Hetmyer

Sheikh Zayed Stadium

West Indies

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. From your mental side, there's a lot of talk about you, Pooran and these guys being the generation of the future. How do you shape in the next World Cup, if you want to look at it that way? All eyes will be on you to lead West Indies to potential victory.

SHIMRON HETMYER: I'm not really thinking about it too much, to be honest. I'm just trying to get my game around, feature basically or suited around being playing for West Indies, really, because most of the T20 teams I've played for, it's either all the way to the top or down to the bottom.

So I'm just trying to get my game structured in such a way that I could basically help the team in whatever way I can to help win games as much as possible.

Q. D.J. Bravo spoke yesterday about the fact that he often works for you and Pooran. Could you share some of what he has been telling you of he would have gone off in retirement?

SHIMRON HETMYER: He's really just said basically the same thing that you said about myself and Pooran being the future and for us to put their hands up, more times than not, to win games for the West Indies team and let us not be lackadaisical in terms of even practise, our mindset.

And so just have that mindset that every time we go out, in whatever situation it is, that we could win the game for our team.

And I think that's really something that would really help both of us in our development as we continue to grow in T20 cricket.

So far it's been good, because after he spoke to us, Pooran, he got two 40s and last night I got 80, too. So far it's been good words. And it's really something that I've taken on and I'm trying to work on from now on.

Q. What was your thinking behind that innings? Talk us through that innings.

SHIMRON HETMYER: I was just trying to give the team and give myself a chance, really, because I knew that at the time the spinners were the only one that really posed a danger for any one of the batsmen at the crease.

So with pace on the ball, it would have been much easier. At the time I was thinking the best thing to do was to try as much as possible to get at least 24 runs off any one of the spinners. And then when the seamers come on, just try to capitalise as much as possible, at least try to get at least ten plus over each over that they bowled. So basically make it back, off the spinners. But losing wickets didn't really help the case.

Q. Consistency has been an issue, not for only you but for a few of the West Indies batsmen. How do you combat being consistent? And tell us about the role Ricky played in your recent IPL performance.

SHIMRON HETMYER: I think it's really for us to not think about it too much and just for us to go out and be our best. I think when you go out there and you have that in mind you're not really focused on actually playing the game and hitting the ball, I would say.

It's for you as a player to know your strengths and know your weaknesses go out and execute as much as you possibly can and try to just remember the good things that you would have done and keep doing that.

And Ricky, he helped -- it was something different. It wasn't something last year, I would say it was something that I was uncomfortable doing, finishing batting all the way down to the end.

But I think after I really took it on board and just gave myself a chance, then is when I really reaped the rewards of it going out and expressing myself.

Although I still give myself a few balls, yes, but I think that really helped me in terms of me just going out and just giving myself a couple of balls and then basically just go from there. And with the freedom as well, that really helped as well.

Q. Brandon mentioned about the role that Ricky played in your development. In IPL you were basically used as a finisher. I want to find out exactly if there was any clarity in your role in this West Indies team. Were you clear in exactly what it is you needed to do in this present West Indies site?

SHIMRON HETMYER: I'm very clear, actually. It's easier because you have so many senior guys here to help you along the way. For me my role is to basically play the situation as it is.

It's either you go in with the team a couple of wickets down and you have to adapt and just build a partnership and go. Or a team's in a good position and then you just go in. You just go in and basically express yourself.

That's basically it. And so far I think for most of the game the other three games I didn't really give myself that chance with the exception of one that I had basically, that I had to go and go out.

The order is really I didn't give myself that chance to really get set and build from there. And I think yesterday was an example of me just giving myself that chance and then push on.

Q. With another World Cup coming in in less than 12 months, now are there any gaps or weaknesses that the team has identified already from this competition? And if you can briefly expand on what they are.

SHIMRON HETMYER: For us, gaps and weaknesses, I think it's, for most teams who play T20s, try to limit the dot-ball percentage. I think that's something that we've been working on from the Caribbean with those 15 T20 games that we had. And even now, we're still working on just basically batting as less dot-balls as we possibly can. Because everyone knows the West Indies team is a boundary-hitting team. If we could basically mix boundary hitting with getting singles and doubles and stuff that's something that would benefit us.

So far it's been a little up and down for us. It's either a lot or basically none. So it's something that we have been working on day in, day out in practise and stuff. And so far I think it's in practise everyone's buying into it, which is a good start. And so it's just for us to continue to buy in and to work on it more and more as we go along.

Q. Despite being out of the title hunt now, what are you personally looking to accomplish in the final match?

SHIMRON HETMYER: Consistency, really. I'm trying to be as consistent as I possibly can. It really helps to -- it really helps with the overall performance of the team, really, with having consistent batters in the team and having players who put up their hands more times than not will really help in us going forward with knowing we have another World Cup coming up pretty soon and then we have all the series to play as well.

Q. Yesterday you would have seen some players from the 2016 World Cup you would have played against probably. You've seen how much they've matured into top international cricketers. What are your thoughts on what lies ahead for West Indies as a whole in international cricket? Preferably do you like all formats and what would you recommend to develop some of the young talents like yourself and these other, these other guys develop?

SHIMRON HETMYER: I think having them there, it's always good. Knowing that they're there and you're always around to you could ask questions of them and stuff.

They always find their way to find a way basically to shed some light upon whatever it is, like having -- no doubt we've lost two of our, I would say, our best T20 players or the best T20 players in the world. It's going to be a little bit difficult.

But I think they would have shared enough information to the younger players into the team that we should learn from and to just keep doing the right things and so on.

And for the younger players, it's basically just to express yourself and be yourself when you get to international stage. It's just not to cloud your mind too much, just to go out and do what you do best, which is either bat or bowl.

And with the coach's help and some other players and so on, you'll only get better.

Q. Skipper spoke about bringing back the T20 Caribbean tournament, where only Caribbean players would play to unearth new talents. What's your take on that?

SHIMRON HETMYER: Honestly, I think it's a good thing. It was something that I really wanted to play growing up. It's something that I almost played. But as I said, I think it's a good initiative.

But at the end of the day I think CPL still develops a lot of players and it really helps us as well because we get to play with some of the best players in the world and really helps in terms of the younger guys. They get to learn different things and learn how basically the pros go about their game and go about how they basically prepare for a match and stuff like that.

I would say it's a good and a bad because you miss out on some of that, but it's good in terms of we'll have basically more good cricketers or more cricketers come through the ranks of playing cricket for the West Indies and get there a little bit faster as well.