Hetmyer could bat higher in the order to accommodate for the power hitters in the middle to lower order (Photo by Randy Brooks – CPL T20/CPL T20 via Getty Images)
Hetmyer is also open to taking inputs and suggestions from the other members in the squad. “There’s a lot of guys there that are actually experienced and it helps in terms of field placement, see where the guys are and move them into specific angles and stuff like that.
“There’s also Keemo [Paul] who is a friend of mine who helps me as well. [Romario] Shepherd, Colin [Ingram]. Basically, the entire team will come over to me and actually lend some advice in terms of what they’re thinking and even the bowlers will come and try to basically pick my brain, in terms of what I would want them to do, which is really nice. It’s always good to know that there’s guys you could always go to and find out what they’re thinking and then they could help you in terms of field setting and who is the bowler at the specific time to make sure that everything goes smoothly.”
Hetmyer hinted that lower-order muscle in the form of Shepherd and Odean Smith could allow him to bat higher rather than slot in as a finisher – a role that he performs for his other T20 franchises.
“It [batting position] is to be decided, to be honest. It’s mainly about the balance of the team,” Hetmyer said.
“In this team, I think it would be much easier for me to bat a little bit higher because of the fact that we have so much power down towards the end and being in a team like that you wouldn’t really want to disrupt the powerplay and at the end; it’s about trying to stick around as the captain and as a batter of the team and get as much as I can out of the team.”
Shepherd and Paul have had to deal with injuries during West Indies’ recent international home season, but Hetmyer backed them to work their way back into the CPL and do the job for Amazon Warriors.
“I think injuries would’ve done quite a lot,” he said. “They would’ve gotten injured during the West Indies series against India – both of them got injured. But, as it is, the physio is doing a wonderful job taking care of [players] and managing the workload and stuff. So, I think coming into the CPL they would be much better and much stronger.” (ESPNcricinfo)
