ICC World Cup 2019 | Would be great to be the first team to score 500, feels Shai Hope

The West Indies cricket team registered a total of 421 in their second warm-up game against New Zealand on Tuesday. Shai Hope starred with the bat as he struck a well-deserved ton as some big-hitting shots from Chris Gayle and Andre Russell powered West Indies to a mammoth total.

The Jason Holder-led side ultimately ran out winners by a margin of 91 runs as they beat the Kiwis in the final warm-up game. Hope, who scored 101 off just 86 balls, revealed that he is hopeful that West Indies can be the first team to break the 500-run mark.

"It is definitely a goal we can try to achieve at some point. Definitely it would be great to be the first team to cross that 500-mark and I am sure we have the batting firepower to do it.

Hope reserved special praise for Russell, who smacked 54 off just 25 balls against New Zealand, saying the opposition often has little idea how to contain him when he's in flow. "He (Russell) is just incredible - a freak of nature really. I don't really know what to say about Russ, he just hits it and once he hits it, it goes for six. He is a pleasure to be on the same team as him, I can tell you that. If you are on the field you are not sure what you are going to bowl at him. It is just nice to enjoy from the inside!" Hope said as per Cricbuzz staff.

Hope, who has amassed 2247 runs from 54 ODIs for Windies, will be a key figure in the middle-order alongside big hitters like Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite and Shimron Hetmeyer.

"I would say my mindset has changed slightly. I haven't really changed too much in terms of my preparation, how I go about things. But, as I said it is about adapting to the style of play, the style of cricket in these times and finding ways to score runs, finding ways to be as consistent as I can be," Hope added.