Short not for Hooper

At least one former cricket administrator believes Carl Hooper should not have been named captain of the West Indies cricket team for the upcoming Test and One-Day series against South Africa.

Former president of the West Indies Cricket Board of Control, Captain Peter Short, told SUNSPORT yesterday that Hooper's place in the team was warranted because of his current form, but that his prior bad record should have excluded him from leading the squad.

Hooper has returned to the West Indies, probably at his own expense to qualify for Test selection by playing for Guyana in the Busta Cup. He is under no sanctions by the West Indies Cricket Board, and his outstanding performance with the bat and his bowling made him a certainty for selection for the first Test, Short said from his home yesterday.

Hooper, known for his cool nature, has managed 4 153 runs at an average at 33.76 in 80 Tests including nine centuries. He has 93 wickets with a best of five for 26. In 182 One-Dayers, he has made 4 612 runs, and taken 163 wickets.

Being named as captain, however, is a different story, according to the adminstrator, who was also former president of the Barbados Cricket Association. His long history of indiscipline and inappropriate behaviour would, in my view, disqualify him from being captain at this time, captain said.

But Short doesn't want West Indians to cry down the decision of the selectors and not support the regional team.

Be that as it may, he has been appointed as captain; and in the best interest of West Indies cricket, he should have the support of all West Indians, he said.

I wish to see West Indies cricket move forward. People do change, and I wish Carl Hooper and the entire West Indies team the very best of luck and good fortune, he concluded.