Australian test captain Steve Waugh has disclosed that he is surprised by the sacking of former West Indies captain Carl Hooper, by the West Indies Cricket Board.
Waugh was at the time responding to questions from the media at a press conference at Le Meridien, Pegasus yesterday.
The Australian skipper said that he felt Hooper had been doing a fairly good job as captain since his appointment soon after he came out of retirement, in moulding this present young team.
However, the Australian captain said that the Australians have come to the West Indies to play competitive cricket and that whoever the West Indian selectors appoint as captain is their concern.
Waugh was quizzed about Brian Lara and said that he is a match winner. He added that Lara was in phenomenal form the last time the Aussies were here and as such they are not underestimating the impact he might have on the series.
The Australian captain was also asked about the renewed rivalry between Lara and arguably one of Australia’s best bowlers, Glen Mc Grath. He said that if Mc Grath is unavailable then they have bowlers, in Jason Gillespie and Andy Bichel and others, who can still get the star batsman out.
Waugh reiterated that the Aussies are here to do a professional job and even though they were still elated after their world cup 2003 triumph, they knew what was next, in the form of the tour to the West Indies.
The captain said that the team had been aware that if they won the world cup then they would have been heading out to the West Indies a few days later and had prepared for that eventuality.
He stressed that the his side is here to represent their country with the highest commitment and with a high level of professionalism.
Waugh was asked about the adjustment from one day world cup matches to test matches and said that the present Australian side is capable of adjusting to the difference, reiterating once again that they were professionals.
The captain said that he is not `awfully’ worried about Glen Mc Grath not bowling to Brian Lara because they have other quality bowlers in Brett Lee, Andy Bichel, Jason Gillespie and Brad Hogg.
Waugh was asked about the tendency of the Bourda wicket not supporting fast bowling and stated that it does not matter what type of pitch they play on because if their bowlers do not get support from the wicket then the are also good through the air.
The Aussie captain added that the Australians will not only be focusing on getting Lara out, but, the entire West Indian team since they have improved in their batting to an extent, over the last few years, with the younger players improving gradually.
Waugh was asked about his thoughts on Ramnaresh Sarwan being appointed vice-captain of the West Indies and said that obviously the West Indies are looking towards the future.
He added that although Sarwan’s test record is not one of the best, he has shown tremendous progress over the last year with consistent scores.
The Aussie captain mentioned that Sarwan may have crossed the important psychological hurdle of scoring a test century, with his first being against Bangladesh during last year as such he [Sarwan] will probably be looking for more centuries against the Aussies.
Vice-captain Ricky Ponting also spoke at the press conference and reiterated most of what the captain said adding that they are professionals and are here to do a professional job.
He said that the team will make the necessary adjustments after their heady success at the world cup and will be playing to win.
It was announced at the press conference that batsman Damien Martyn has been ruled out of the series due to a fractured right index finger.
A replacement will be named soon by the Australian Cricket Board.