Towards the end of the decade the West Indies batting became increasingly
dependant on Carl Hooper and Brian Lara. Hooper became vice-captain,
and even captained the side in ODIs. He became more consistent with the bat
and more adept with the ball, although illness and family problems kept him
out of some cricket. In England in 1996 he was promoted to opening bat with
some success. His 73 not out in the first Test at Headingley lead West Indies
to a nine wicket victory, and he also made two 40s at the top of the order
but his best performance was at the Oval when he slipped back down the
order and made 127.
In Australia in 1996-97 he made 102 at Brisbane, and when India came to the
Caribbean in early 1997 he made 129 in Jamaica. On the Pakistan tour of
1997-98 he scored 73 not out in the second innings at Rawalpindi and made
106 in Karachi. On England's tour in 1998 he won the second Test in Trinidad
with 94 not out as his side chased runs on a difficult wicket, then made 108
not out in Antigua. He had 15 wickets in the series as well.
When West Indies toured South Africa in 1998-99 - the so-called 'Rainbow-wash'
series - he could only come up with 86 at Cape Town, and after a brief return
in the epic series with Australia in the Caribbean in 1999 he announced his retirement.
Talks of a return in 2000 disappeared amid confusion but many felt the cricket
world had not seen the last of Carl Hooper and, sure enough, he not only
returned but returned as captain - scoring 69 and 35 in the 1st Test against
South Africa in March 2001.
Carl went on to play - and captain - the Windies in a further 21 Tests and
produced some notable performances with the bat in that period.
He took a particular shine to the Indian attack in the 2002
home series, plundering 579 runs at an average of 82.71, with 233 in Georgetown
115 in Bridgetown and 136 in Antigua to help the West Indies to a 2-1 series victory.
Hooper reached the landmark of 100 Tests when playing against India in
Mumbai in October 2002 and his final Test match appearance came in the
last match of that series, the drawn match in Calcutta. In total Carl played
in 102 Test matches for the West Indies but, for such a wonderfully gifted
player, his average of 36.46 was a disappointing return. (Bob Harragan)