BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — West Indies Captain Shai Hope is hoping that the death of the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers inspires his troops to victory in their One-Day International (ODI) series against New Zealand.

Sir Garry, one of Barbados’s national heroes and widely regarded as the best cricketer the world has ever seen, passed away on Friday at the age of 89.

In 93 Test matches for the West Indies, between 1954 and 1974, Sir Garry scored 8032 runs at an average of 57.78 and also took 235 wickets.

With the West Indies needing to win the final two matches of the series at Kensington Oval to overturn a 2-1 deficit and secure a series victory, Hope said while Sir Garry’s death had created a sombre mood in the camp, he is counting on it to serve as a motivator for the regional side.

“It is a sad one. He has shown what West Indies cricket really means. He’s one of the first legends of the game and really set and paved the way for us all, so I think tomorrow should be a big inspiration for us, a big confidence booster for us.

“I’m not saying that we’re looking at the death to only rise us but we need to play this one for the great man, and hopefully we can get the results that we really want in his honour as well,” Hope said during a pre-match interview on Saturday.

He said winning the remaining two games is also crucial in their bid to secure automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup.

“It’s very important. And something we’ve been mentioning for the last few series now is that every single game is very important, especially for what’s at stake.

“We’ve got a big qualification period. I think these games hold a bit more weight, probably a bit more than the others, but we’ve still got to play each game as it comes. We have to ensure that we’re following all of our processes and executing when the time comes,” Hope said.

Unlike the previous three matches in Guyana, the captain said he expects a pitch which will be much easier to bat on.

However, he emphasised that regardless of the conditions the West Indies need to adapt quickly and be at their best.

“It [the pitch] doesn’t look as though it’s going to be as slow and low but, again, the adaptation needs to happen when the toss flips and when the first ball is bowled,” Hope said.

“We still have to see what’s going to happen. We have a better understanding of the surface here in Barbados but, regardless of how we think it’s going to play, we still have to assess on the day and be ready for whatever challenges we face — from an opposition standpoint and from a condition standpoint as well,” Hope said.