New West Indies Skipper

The West Indies will have a new, already nominated but as yet unnamed captain to replace Jimmy Adams for the home series against South Africa that starts in Georgetown on March 9, the fifth in six years.

After a day of typical speculation and confusion, all that was made clear by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in a media statement last night was that "a new West Indies captain will be appointed later this week".

It was confirmed yesterday by Owen Estwick, one of Barbados' two WICB directors, that Carl Hooper had been nominated for the post by a majority vote of the four selectors, chairman Mike Findlay, Joey Carew, Joel Garner and team coach Roger Harper.

Hooper returned to West Indies cricket this season almost two years after his shock retirement from international cricket.

He has led Guyana to the Busta International Shield final, scoring a record 889 runs at an average in the 90s and gained influential support for a recall from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo. Estwick said he had been called by a WICB official, told of Hooper's nomination and asked for his view.

"I did not register an objection but I believe a change of captaincy is sufficiently important to have had a meeting of the board, rather than a round-robin ring-around," he said.

The choice will have to be sanctioned by WICB president Pat Rousseau, vice-president Clarvis Joseph and all 12 directors representing the six member boards.

Chief executive officer Gregory Shillingford said an announcement would not be made until all were contacted.

In 1997, the board rejected the selectors' recommendation of Brian Lara as captain for the tour of Pakistan and retained Courtney Walsh. Adams was appointed exactly a year following Lara's resignation from the position on February 24, 2000.

A committed and conscientious leader, Adams had an outstanding start to his captaincy. He led the West Indies to four victories in his first six Tests in which he averaged 65 an innings.

But he has paid the price for the heavy West Indies defeats in their last two series in England (3-1) and Australia (5-0) and his own declining batting form.

It is also obvious that Adams and vice-captain Sherwin Campbell will not be considered. Neither was included in the 16 named last night for a pre-series camp this weekend in Trinidad.

Hooper, overweight and unusually sluggish, quit the West Indies team after the sixth of seven One-Day Internationals against Australia at Kensington Oval in April, 1999. It was two weeks before the World Cup in England for which he had already been picked.

"My heart was not in it," he said at the time. "I just felt flat. There was no emotion in me, nothing."

He emigrated to Adelaide with his Australian wife, Constance, and young son and played club cricket for a season in Melbourne before returning last October for the Red Stripe Bowl.

His claims were emphasised by his performance in this season's Busta Cup and Busta International Shield.