The Hindu : Hooper's first Test hundred at home ground

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 13, 2002

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Sport - Cricket

Hooper's first Test hundred at home ground

By Mohandas Menon

**Adam Sanford became the 242nd West Indian to make an appearance for the West Indies in Tests since the team's first Test match in 1928. Sanford also became the first Dominican cricketer representing one the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, known as the Crib Indian, to appear in a Test match.

**West Indian opener Stuart Williams and wicket-keeper Junior Murray were making a comeback to the side after missing 36 and 34 Test matches respectively. They last played against South Africa in the Port Elizabeth & Cape Town Test matches in December 1998 and January 1999.

**Brian Lara, after scoring 688 runs at an average of 114.67 in his last six Test innings, recorded his 10th duck of his career in his 84th match and 148th innings. This incidentally was his second duck against India. His first came at the Wankhede Stadium, Bombay in November 1994. He was then dismissed "bowled'' by Manoj Prabhakar.

**Carl Hooper (108 not out) registered his 11th Test hundred of his career in 93 matches. It was his fourth hundred at home, but his first at his home ground Bourda Oval in six matches. His previous highest at this venue was the 69 he made against South Africa in March last year.

**Hooper became the second West Indian captain to register a hundred at this venue against India. Gary Sobers had made an identical score (108 not out) during the 1971 series.

**Incidentally this was Hooper's second such hundred in his 13th Test match as captain. His only other hundred was the 149 he made against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in July last year.

**Hooper also became the 33rd Test captain for the 58th time to make a hundred against India. Interestingly, fellow Guyanese and former West Indian left-hander Clive Lloyd has seven hundreds as captain - the maximum by any Test captain against India.

**Playing in his first Test match of his career in the West Indies Javagal Srinath has now taken at least three wickets in an innings in every Test playing nation, with the exception of Pakistan, where he has still not made an appearance as yet. His best figures in each of these countries are: in

India (8-86), in Australia (4-130), in England (4-103), in New Zealand (5-95), in South Africa (6-76), in Sri Lanka (5-114), in Zimbabwe (3-59), in Bangladesh (3-19). In 31 away Tests matches Srinath now has 118 wickets. Only Kapil Dev (215 wickets in 66 matches) and Bishan Bedi (129 in 37) have taken more wickets abroad for India.

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