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Hooper opts out; King turns down offer

CASTRIES (St. Lucia) APRIL 8. Dumped captain Carl Hooper announced on Monday that he would not play for the West Indies in the series against Australia starting on Thursday.

He said remaining on the team would be ``a backward step for West Indies cricket,'' and did not want to stand in the way of a younger player who could take his place.

Hooper, replaced as skipper after the World Cup, was slated to play against Australia in the Test that begins in his native Guyana on Thursday.

While it was tempting to play against the Australians, ``it would curtail the development of a younger player,'' Hooper said in a statement.

The West Indies Cricket Board chose Brian Lara to replace Hooper as captain on March 31.

Sir Viv Richards, chairman of the West Indies' selectors, said Hooper's decision was disappointing. ``We are disappointed. We are now thinking of a replacement,'' he said.

But he said the all-rounder was selected with certain options in mind when the 14-man squad was chosen for the first Test.

``We were hoping for him to play because he would have filled a certain role such as being a spinner,'' Richards said.

As to who will replace Hooper, ``our options are still open,'' Richards said.

Hooper said he made the decision after giving ``careful consideration.''

``This has been a difficult decision, but is one I feel must be made, given the recent developments and the new direction in which the team will now head,'' Hooper said.

Lara was recalled to lead the team against Australia and chose 22-year-old Ramnaresh Sarwan of Guyana as vice captain, an indication that Sarwan was being groomed to take over.

Meanwhile, Bennett King rejected an enticing offer to coach the West Indies cricket line-up, lured instead by the prospect of a ``ground floor'' role as a Center of Excellence evolves in his native Australia.

The WICB announced last week that King, head coach at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide, was its preferred candidate to fill the coaching void created by Roger Harper's post-World Cup resignation.

However, the 38-year-old King informed cricket administrators in Australia and the Caribbean on Tuesday that he wouldn't take up the West Indies offer.

``It wasn't a decision I came to lightly, I thought long and hard and I did a fair bit of research in regards to the West Indies past, present and things that are planned,'' King told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. ``I decided (that) at this point in time, I'm going to learn much more from the Australian way.''

King took over at the Australian Cricket Academy in March last year and still has two years to run on his contract.

``It's a unique time in Australian cricket... the Center of Excellence isn't something the ACB has rushed into — it's been well planned, has the resources,'' he said. ``The ACB offered some experiences for me that I thought were valuable and necessary in terms of my development.

``I want to see how the Center of Excellence unfolds...You don't get many opportunities to help shape a country's leading sport. And from that perspective I feel it's hugely important.''

So patriotism played a small part in the decision, King conceded, while Australia's status as the world's top cricket nation also swayed him to remain at home.

``It's a very exciting position, the West Indies coaching position,'' he said. ``I would have loved to have seen how my style worked in with their style of play.

``It's a high profile job and one with a very high profile side. I can't think of too many higher coaching positions than the West Indies. But like I said, I did my research and I don't make decisions with my eyes closed.

``I won't look back and think it's an opportunity gone, it's an opportunity taken from an ACB point of view."

As a coach he was ready for the challenge of leading a national team like the West Indies, King said, adding that he hoped similar opportunities would arise in future.

King said the reasons he gave to the West Indies board for rejecting the job were confidential.

The confusion about the apparent premature announcement of his appointment last week wasn't among those reasons, King said.

The WICB ``has been very good. I wasn't very happy with how it was announced, but that was a minor hiccup.''

King coached Queensland to three consecutive domestic first-class championship titles after replacing current Australian coach John Buchanan in 1999-2000 and before moving to the Academy.

The ACB said it hadn't applied any pressured on King to see out his contract.

``We actually regard it as a great honour for one of our coaches to be approached by the West Indies for that job,'' ACB chief executive James Sutherland said.

Former West Indies international Gus Logie has been appointed interim coach of the Caribbean squad for the home series against Australia, which includes four Tests and seven limited-overs internationals.

— AP

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