ONE Englishman was left beaming with pride when Shai Hope’s devotion to crease occupation secured a historic Test match victory and a place in the first-class record books.
For Hope’s historic Headingley hundreds reminded Alan Wells, who had the most fleeting of associations with Test cricket himself in the mid-90s, of an early episode in their relationship at Bede’s, an independent school nestled in the countryside of East Sussex.

One that confirmed his pupil was at odds with both his 16 years and the Twenty20 generation into which he was born, as a devoted disciple of the art of ‘batsmanship’ rather than a Bajan braggadocio. Beneath the Cantona collars lurked a serious talent.
“His approach to practice was exemplary. I remember stopping him before he went into a net once and asking him what his objective was for that session. He told me it was the same as every other time he walked in. I said: “What’s that?” His answer: “I never want to get out”.’

The high price the 23-year-old placed on his wicket at Leeds was integral to West Indies’ win and, strikingly, the first occurrence of a player celebrating three figures twice in a match since first-class cricket was first played there in 1890. It was Hope’s coming of age as an international player, a journey accelerated by his time as a sixth form boarder at Bede’s.

Since 2010, Wells, the school’s director of cricket, has regularly headed out to Bridgetown to hand-pick a scholar for a programme jointly funded with the Barbados Cricket Association. Hope was his first draft.
“What stood out about Shai? His passion for the game – it’s in his blood with his brother Kyle and father Ian – his determination to improve, and after watching him practise I knew he would be willing to work really hard, to sacrifice a lot to fulfil his potential.”

Bede’s has a rich cricket pedigree. Their Under-15 team were crowned national champions this summer. Wells’ eldest son Luke – the Sussex left-hander, who has struck 15 first-class hundreds – and Middlesex’s England Lions spinner Ollie Rayner are former first XI captains.
Despite being an outsider, Wells identified Hope to follow in their footsteps, and appointed him captain for both his years at the school.

“He was a very mature cricketer and a very natural leader because of his obvious determination to succeed through hard work. He was therefore a great role model for everyone that came into contact with him,” Wells said.
“We will never forget him for the wonderful young man he was but also the lasting legacy he has left. In Sussex schools cricket people still talk about Shai and some of the innings he played against Eastbourne College and Ardingly College. The people that witnessed them have not forgotten.”

Particularly one against Ardingly in which he struck 178 not out and took Abi Sakande, an England Under-19 at the time and now on the Sussex staff, apart.
“Shai didn’t think he was bowling fast enough at him, so he stood about two metres down the pitch so it would come on a bit quicker, and he just kept smacking him into the trees for six – it was just extraordinary,” Wells recalls.

The fact that the pair remain in close contact is “100% a reflection on him as a character” according to Wells: “He still sends me birthday wishes and Christmas greetings, stuff like that. I am so proud of him and his achievements.”
Yesterday morning’s text message reflected fatigue. Wells’ response was to remind his former pupil of the offer made at the start of West Indies’ tour – a ticket with his name on it for the series finale at Lord’s.