Holder calls for Hooper to be West Indies captain - calls Foster's comments insular By Donald Duff Stabroek News January 10, 2000 Former head of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) Terry Holder yesterday added his voice to calls for former West Indies vice-captain Carl Hooper to be made captain of the West Indies team. "In a situation where everyone is convinced that a review needs to be done of Jimmy Adams as captain of the West Indies team consideration has to be made for those persons who can in fact command a place in the side," Holder told Stabroek Sport in an exclusive interview. Recently a report in the Sunday Mirror newspaper of Trinidad quoted "reliable sources' in Antigua, the headquarters of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) as saying that the mercurial all-rounder was tipped for the captaincy. "I think the credentials of Hooper recommends the player for that position," said Holder, a deputy general manager of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company. Holder said Hooper would have left the cricket field in 1999 disappointed that his experience as a player and a captain had not been recognised when at Bourda he was overlooked in favour of Adams. "Adams has now failed us and Hooper has made himself available at his own expense to return to represent Guyana. He has expressed a willingness to come out of retirement to play for the West Indies. His performance against Barbados demonstrate that he still has the skill and talent to both perform and to lead," Holder said. Holder feels that the selectors now have an opportunity to right the wrong. "It is a glorious opportunity to set things right, especially when there is so few all round talent. Adams has disqualified himself by his batting in Australia," he added. Holder also viewed as insular, comments by Jamaica's former Test batsman Maurice Foster that to consider Hooper would be a backward step. "Could you imagine Foster suggesting Campbell and Lara, a former captain and calling Hooper's appointment a backward step?" he asked. Holder noted that Lara had already led the West Indies and that Hooper deserves to be given a chance. "There is need for fresh, new thinking at the top. I would concede that Hooper has been a bit of a disappointment in the past but over the last two years there has been a greater consistency in his batting. At a time when real talent is needed, it would be an absolute tragedy to disregard his credentials as a cricketer and as a captain," Holder ended. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today