Hooper, a charmer at the crease

Over the last 20 years, four exceptional right-handers have batted with the lazy elegance of a natural left-hander. They are Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mark Waugh, VVS Laxman and Carl Hooper ... Numbers would never tell the real Hooper story. He was a charmer at the crease, someone who would conjure his runs rather than construct his innings.

Going back to his playing days, Hooper said Wasim Akram and Abdul Qadir were the toughest bowlers he faced. “Akram was sharp, could bowl over and round the wicket with great control, swing and reverse swing the ball, and seamed it around too. Qadir had a bag of tricks as a leg-spinner, every delivery in the over would be different. Shane Warne bowled with great accuracy and had a terrific leg-spinner, but Qadir had more variety.”