00:00In this video, witness a captivating duel between the arrogant Carl Hooper and the legendary
00:05Shane Vaughn.
00:06Carl Hooper, with his trademark grace and timing, took Shane Vaughn head-on, effortlessly
00:12disrupting his length and dispatching him for four exquisite boundaries.
00:17It was a masterclass in counter-attacking batting.
00:20Let's rewind to Bridgetown Barbados during the first test between West Indies and Australia
00:26in April 2, 1995, where Carl Hooper crafted a classy 60 of 91 balls in 116 winners, laced
00:34with 11 glorious fours.
00:36A true Caribbean delight against one of the finest leg spinners of the game has ever seen.
00:56Well, Shane Vaughn has decided that he's going to bowl round the wicket for Carl Hooper, perhaps
01:04because of the worn areas outside the lake slump of Carl Hooper.
01:07Carl Hooper on that occasion decided that he didn't want Shane Vaughn to be pitching in those
01:11worn areas, so he used his feet and got down, hit it on the full, and that's the end result
01:16into the Kensington stand.
01:23Come down again, may have just got a touch on that.
01:41He kept signals four, Waughn looks pensively.
01:48Well, that wasn't a bad deliver from Shane Vaughn, as you can see there, look at that ball
01:53drift away from Carl Hooper, just getting the inside edge down into the fine leg region,
02:00but again Carl Hooper advancing down the pitch, trying to get to the ball before it pitches
02:04in those rough areas.
02:11Yet again, down the track, and Carl Hooper is making a statement, I think, a very emphatic
02:19statement, not unlike what happened in the one-day games, when it's as though they've come together
02:24in a team meeting, and he is declaring the hand of the West Indian batsman.
02:39Lovely shot, Carl Hooper, Jeffrey made mention of his beautiful hand, he has great soft hands,
02:46and he pushes the ball to point and behind square league for ones.
02:49He also has lovely footwork and the timing, and the push past the outstretched McGrath.
02:55Oh, how exquisite was that, he ran round it a little bit, he knew Shane Vaughn was aiming
03:04at outside leg stump, he ran round it, lovely footwork, nice timing.
03:10Well, Hooper's done it again, he's taken the mantle to Shane Vaughn, with some speculation
03:19of the past, and perhaps it only lasts two in the one-day series, but he's on the attack.
03:32Picked that up very early, did Hooper, and of course, not afraid to strike the ball in the air,
03:36which he can afford to do with the field up like this.
03:39The Australians are attacking relentlessly, and he's timed it sweetly.
03:42Well, there are only two men in front of the bats, one on the offside, and one on the onside.
03:52The man on the onside, of course, the forward short leg, and the man on the offside at cover,
03:57so far who could decide him to go over the top.
04:00Well, that was just a good shot, wasn't too short that, just a touch, just a little bit of wind, not much,
04:27and he just played a late cut.
04:35Mark Waugh, very useful bowler, did very well here in the West Indies in 91,
04:42topped the bowling averages on that occasion, as he did the batting,
04:45he also took the most catches, so he had a fair tour here four years ago.
04:50Well, pulled away with contemptuous ease by Carl Hooper, who raises the 100 for the West Indies.
05:07Mark Waugh is bowling with a similar field to the one that McGrath bowled to,
05:11but certainly McGrath in attempt to bowl as short as that.
05:15That was much too short, only two men on the onside, one at mid-on and the man in fine leg.
05:20Lots of space on that offside, onside rather.
05:23And very short and banged away this time through the covers for another boundary.
05:30Apparently, there are many spaces on the offside, or that's what Carl Hooper thinks at any rate.
05:40Much too short there again from Mark Waugh, much too short at his pace.
05:45That's gone.
05:57What a way to bring up his half's entry.
06:08Well, Mark Waugh has always been a very aggressive, medium-paced bowler.
06:13But he's bowling to a man in top form, the height of his confidence.
06:18I can't afford to be bowling that short.
06:22Three fours in the over, three for 108.
06:36He's got that one away, fractionally short, plenty of empty space on the left side, four for Hooper.
06:49He's sort of medium pace just over, bangs that in.
07:03Really got to surprise the batsmen at that pace.
07:07And it's a bit difficult to do that.
07:09Only sort of medium.
07:10He's got him.
07:11Got his third wicket, well bowled.
07:12Makes the breakthrough.
07:13Carl Hooper goes, caught in the slips.
07:14And Julian gets his third wicket, with the West Indies now losing their fourth wicket for 130.
07:20Here's the wicket that fell, the ball just going across the right-hander, pitching on the stump, just plain inside he to touch.
07:42Carl Hooper was at his peak of his elegant and effortless batting form.
07:47Known for his lazy elegance, Hooper's strokes play was marked by silky drives, wrist flicks and sharp footwork in his spin.
07:55His technique was a blend of grace and timing rather than brute force, particularly strong through the covers and mid wicket.
08:01He made even the best ballers look ordinary when in his rhythm.
08:05Against spinners like Shane Vaughan, he was fearless, often using the crease intelligently, either coming down the pitch or playing late off the back foot.
08:14His ability to pierce the caps with precision made him a dangerous middle-order best man.
08:19In 1995, his exceptional confidence in class, often anchoring West Indies innings with style.
08:25Carl Hooper played 102 test matches for the West Indies between 1987 and 2002.
08:32Over the course of his career, he scored 5,762 runs in 173 innings, maintaining a respectable batting average of 36.46.
08:42Hooper notched up 13 centuries and 27 half centuries, with his highest individual score being a magnificent 233.
08:50A right-handed batsman known for his elegant stroke play, he was particularly fluent through the covers and strong against spin.
08:57As a genuine all-rounder, Carl Hooper was contributed with the bat, delivering 13,164 balls of right-arm offspin and claiming 114 wickets.
09:08His best bowling figures in any innings were 5 for 26, though his overall bowling average of 49.42 suggests his primary role remained with the bat.
09:17Beyond his batting and bowling, Carl Hooper was an exceptional slipfielder, taking 115 catches in test cricket, a testament to his sharp reflexes and safe hands.
09:28Overall, Carl Hooper remains one of the West Indies' most stylish and versatile cricketers.
09:33Graceful with the bat, handy with the ball and reliable in the field.
09:37If you liked this video, please comment, share and subscribe.
09:40Thanks for watching.
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