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Shammi Kowlessar looks at part of the career of Carl Hooper and sees a larger hole than expected.

Out of the way

Whatever happens from now on, Carl Llewellyn Hooper will go down in the record books as one of the biggest disappointments in the history of West Indies cricket.

Hooper is arguably the most elegant batsman produced in the Caribbean since Lawrence Rowe two decades ago. He seems to have all the time in the world to play and the only batsman on par with him as a player of spin bowling is current world No. 1 Sachin Tendulkar.

When Hooper exploded onto the scene just over 11 years go after enjoying a sensational youth career, the world seemed at his feet.

And he was just 20 in 1987 when he was called up against India to follow in the footsteps of other legendary Guyanese batsmen like Rohan Kanhai, Roy Fredericks, Clive Lloyd and Alvin Kallicharan. But 12 years and 78 Tests and later, he has not even qualified to carry their cricket gear.

Not only has Hooper not lived up to enormous expectations justifiably generated by his talents, he has not even lived up to the realistic requirements of an average middle-order Test batsman.

Forty is a generally accepted benchmark of middle-order success; Hooper has just brought his average UP to around 35.

But despite constant appeals for his head from many journalists and fans through the years, the West Indies selectors have kept faith in him.

To see him bat is to understand why. What keeps the selectors thinking it very difficult to get rid of him, is precisely what makes so many West Indies fans keep clamouring for him to be dropped.

His tremendous attributes notwithstanding, Hooper is perhaps best known throughout the cricketing world for the infuriating habit of getting himself out when he seems set to bat forever. And he always seems to be constantly inventing new strange and comical ways to end his innings.

But undisputed underachievement with the bat has not prevented Hooper from making a valuable contribution to West Indies cricket.

His brilliance in the field-particularly in the close-catching positions-has been a key factor in West Indies success over the last decade or so. As has his much-improved off-spin bowling.

And although his batting remains overall a huge disappointment, it too has improved over the last few years. Indeed, surprisingly, the phlegmatic Guyanese has been the most consistent West Indian Test batsman over the last two and a half years.

Since the West Indies and Australia last met in Australia at the end of 1996, Hooper has been statistically the West Indies top performer with the bat.

On that 1996 tour, he emerged on top of the WI batting averages and aggregates in the Tests, scoring 362 runs at an average of 45.25 in the 3-2 series loss. By comparison, Shivnarine Chanderpaul notched 296 (38.22 average) while Brian Lara got 296 at 32.88.

Hooper also finished the tour with the most runs, his 568 close to 100 more than Lara's tally and seven more than Chanderpaul's.

In the next series against India in the Caribbean in early '97, Hooper ended with a disappointing 35 to finish fourth in the averages. But he bounced back to top both the averages and aggregates in the next two Test series.

In the brief two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which immediately followed the India visit, Hooper scored 148 runs and averaged 49.33. Lara had 120 at an average of 30 while Chanderpaul did not play because of injury.

And although the Windies will want to forget their end-of-1997 visit to Pakistan, in which they were embarrassed in all three Test matches, Hooper's accomplishments will be remembered.

He scored 228 at an average of 45.60 while Chanderpaul could only muster 153 at a paltry average of 25.5 and Lara 129 at 21.50.

Over the entire tour, Chanderpaul also finished behind opener Sherwin Campbell with 201 runs at an average of 25.12. They were both miles behind Hooper, who scored 374 runs at an impressive average of 74.80.

Next came the England tour of the Caribbean early last year. And Hooper, who finished behind Lara in the Test averages, was everyone's choice for Man of the Series. Almost everyone, since adjudicator Joseph ``Reds'' Perreira named Curtly Ambrose.

The precedent had already been set as the last time England had been in the Caribbean in 1995, Lara had scored 798 runs in the Test series, including the world record 375, and ``Reds'' selected Ambrose as Man of the Series.

After the humiliation by Pakistan, the Windies seemed certain to lose the First Test until Hooper, with good support from David Williams, produced an unbeaten, unblemished 94 to win the match and launch his team's on the road to victory in the series.

He scored 295 in the five Test matches at an average of 49.16 and was only overshadowed by new skipper Lara, whose 417 runs were scored at an average of just over 52.

Hooper also claimed 15 wickets in the Tests and was the star of the limited-overs series, a fact which was apparently disregarded in determining Man of the Series honours.

Hooper has only scored nine Test centuries but in his 28 completed innings from the 21 Tests since 1996-before the disastrous South African series-he has notched four. Chanderpaul has scored two from 29 completed innings and Lara two from 35.

In that whole period, Hooper has scored 1,278 at an average of 45.64 while Chanderpaul has notched 1,212 at 41.79 and Lara 1,353 at 38.66.

And although the figures from South African stats considerably damage these figures, Hooper still finishes on top overall at an average of just under 40.

In the 5-0 whitewash by South Africa, he managed just 237 (average 23.7) but he also bowled 142 overs. And he was often out in the middle batting as wickets were falling at alarming rates. Lara scored 310 at an average of 31 and Chanderpaul, 266 at average of 26.6.

Hooper is missing from the line-up for the First Test that started yesterday, having opted to remain at the side of his ill newborn son in Australia.

Consistent regional performers Jimmy Adams, Dave Joseph, Roland Holder are in the middle order in place of Hooper and the injured Shivnarine Chanderpaul. But it may not be long before the voices that have been clamouring for Cousin Carl's head may soon change their tune. Instead of ``Hooper dead'' they may be singing ``Hooper come back home''.