The Hindu : Historic occasion for Hooper

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 09, 2002

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Historic occasion for Hooper

By K. SRIKKANTH

India will take on West Indies in first of the three Tests in Mumbai on Wednesday. This must probably be the most inexperienced West Indian side to visit India, and the team does have its task cut out

When the West Indians, under Courtney Walsh, visited India in 1993-94, at least they had a couple of threatening fast bowlers, including the captain himself, however, this time around, the side does not possess a great pace bowling name.

In the Caribbean batting, Brian Lara will be sorely missed, but captain Carl Hooper will be playing his 100th Test. It is a tremendous achievement, considering he took a rather lengthy break from international cricket a few years ago.

He has been a committed performer for the West Indies over the years, and has been among the most durable cricketers too. He is a wonderful strokeplayer, can handle both pace and spin with ease.

In fact, Hooper's record could have been more impressive, had he displayed more willpower considering he possessed all the strokes. When he burst on to the international arena, he was seen by many as the next Vivian Richards, however, Hooper, gifted that he is, was never consistent.

He is a quality batsman though, and he has more responsibility on him too in India as the most experienced batsman in the line-up. It will be interesting to see how Hooper fares on this important tour.

The Indians have few worries in batting, it is a strong line-up that appears even stronger at home. The middle order picks itself and the only question is about the openers. Here, I am quite certain that Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Bangar will continue at the top of the order.

The Test will be played on a fresh pitch, and it remains to be seen how the wicket behaves. Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan should share the new ball, while Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh are likely to team up as the spin combination. It is a well-balanced attack where Bangar could double up as the support seamer.

The Indians have an awesome record at home, and it's advantage India. Carl Hooper will also want to make his 100th Test a memorable occasion though.

www.krishsrikkannth.com

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