Hooper to lead WI vs Australia — BBC

LONDON: Carl Hooper has been invited to captain West Indies in the home series against Australia, according to reports.

There has been no official confirmation from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) as yet, but news agencies in the Caribbean say the 36-year-old Guyanese all-rounder will remain in charge. Hooper has been skipper for the past two years but indicated he was thinking over his future following the team’s early exit from the World Cup. They won three of their five completed matches, but were ultimately denied progress in the competition after having to share the points for the game against Bangladesh, which was abandoned due to rain. He has also been suffering further problems from his troublesome knees, but the selectors feel he is still needed to give a lead to the younger players in the side.

West Indies have won only four out of 22 Tests since Hooper took over from Jimmy Adams, losing 11, but their one-day record is better with 23 wins from 49 games. He has helped oversee the development of talented youngsters like Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, but none of them is deemed ready for the responsibility of leading the team. West Indies will play four Tests against Australia, who they have not beaten for a decade. They were whitewashed 5-0 in Australia the last time the two sides met, but will draw encouragement from the 1999 series in the Caribbean when Brian Lara inspired them to a 2-2 draw.  See Page 69.