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After ten weeks in Caribbean sport's most critically analysed job, Carl Hooper appreciates that West Indies' cricket is facing turbulent times.

In recent years, successive captains, coaches, managers, performance consultants and whoever else have endured the burden of moderate results, especially overseas.

For most of the period Hooper was one of the lieutenants. He is now the general and the new West Indies captain would have observed the kind of pressure that his successors went through.

I'm prepared for that. I've seen it with (Courtney) Walsh. I've seen it with Brian (Lara). I've seen it with Jimmy (Adams), Hooper said.

It is nothing new for me. It's nothing different. All the criticism and the flap that is going to come down, I am prepared for and expect.

The most important thing is to make sure that the team is focussed, not swayed by outside influences and try to take one step at a time in building what we think will be a very good West Indies team in years to come.

The truth of the matter is that the knowledgeable West Indian public always demands success and, based on results alone, Hooper has not been able to deliver.

One should not forget that he came into the job as West Indies captain after almost two years in the wilderness and in the aftermath of the team's 5-0 Test series drubbing in Australia.

West Indies were able to show admirable fighting spirit in the first phase of the series against South Africa, but in the end, they could not win either the Vivian Richards Trophy for the Test series or the Cable & Wireless Trophy for the One-Day Internationals.

And while supporters around the region have started to pile on pressure, Hooper remains unflustered.

I've got to hold up. I can't let that get to me. If I let it get to me, it will start affecting my game, he said.

His players, however, have been hot and cold with their performances.

Take Chris Gayle, for example. On the opening day of the Test series, he cracked several off-side boundaries on the way to 81. There were a few other scores of 40-odd, but there were times when his footwork and shot selection often caused his downfall.

Others were affected by similar problems, but Hooper is satisfied his men were committed to the task.

I think they've been trying in all honesty, he said. We've just been completely outplayed. I don't think it is a lack of determination or desire.

When those like Gayle made mistakes, the captain tried his best to solve their problems.

When they've got out, I've sat down and had one-on-ones with a number of young players and they all want to do well. It's just that we've lacked the depth, experience and the know-how to go about dealing with the South Africans. I hope they will learn from it and put it down to just an experience and be better for it at the end of the series.

As one who was part of the West Indies side that went through the humiliation of a whitewash in South Africa a little over two years ago, Hooper knew the type of quality opposition he would be facing.

The South Africans are a highly professional unit which has made immense strides since their re-entry to international cricket in 1991.

We were always aware that they would be a tough team to play. It doesn't make it any easier, Hooper said.

Unfortunately, the gap between the two teams has been shown, but we're not going to lose heart. It's a good time to sit and gauge where we are at the moment and where we want to go.

As the series winds down, have the West Indies moved any closer to narrowing the distance between the two sides?

It's hard to bridge that sort of gap in just a few weeks, the West Indies captain responded. South Africa have worked for years to get to the level of where they're at and it is going to take us the same time to get up there.

I don't expect to see it overnight. You probably won't see it for another year or so, but certainly we know where we want to go.

© The Barbados Nation