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After ten weeks in Caribbean sport’s most critically analysed job,Carl Hooper appreciates that West Indies’ cricket is facing turbulenttimes.In recent years, successive captains, coaches, managers, performanceconsultants and whoever else have endured the burden of moderateresults, especially overseas.For most of the period Hooper was one of the lieutenants. He is nowthe general and the new West Indies captain would have observed thekind of pressure that his successors went through.I’m prepared for that. I’ve seen it with (Courtney) Walsh. I’ve seenit with Brian (Lara). I’ve seen it with Jimmy (Adams), Hooper said.It is nothing new for me. It’s nothing different. All the criticismand 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 inbuilding what we think will be a very good West Indies team in yearsto come.The truth of the matter is that the knowledgeable West Indian publicalways demands success and, based on results alone, Hooper has notbeen able to deliver.One should not forget that he came into the job as West Indies captainafter almost two years in the wilderness and in the aftermath of theteam’s 5-0 Test series drubbing in Australia.West Indies were able to show admirable fighting spirit in the firstphase of the series against South Africa, but in the end, they couldnot win either the Vivian Richards Trophy for the Test series or theCable & Wireless Trophy for the One-Day Internationals.And while supporters around the region have started to pile onpressure, Hooper remains unflustered.I’ve got to hold up. I can’t let that get to me. If I let it get tome, 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 afew other scores of 40-odd, but there were times when his footwork andshot selection often caused his downfall.Others were affected by similar problems, but Hooper is satisfied hismen were committed to the task.I think they’ve been trying in all honesty, he said. We’ve just beencompletely outplayed. I don’t think it is a lack of determination ordesire.When those like Gayle made mistakes, the captain tried his best tosolve their problems.When they’ve got out, I’ve sat down and had one-on-ones with a numberof young players and they all want to do well. It’s just that we’velacked the depth, experience and the know-how to go about dealing withthe South Africans. I hope they will learn from it and put it down tojust 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 thehumiliation of a whitewash in South Africa a little over two yearsago, Hooper knew the type of quality opposition he would be facing.The South Africans are a highly professional unit which has madeimmense strides since their re-entry to international cricket in 1991.We were always aware that they would be a tough team to play. Itdoesn’t make it any easier, Hooper said.Unfortunately, the gap between the two teams has been shown, but we’renot going to lose heart. It’s a good time to sit and gauge where weare at the moment and where we want to go.As the series winds down, have the West Indies moved any closer tonarrowing the distance between the two sides?It’s hard to bridge that sort of gap in just a few weeks, the WestIndies captain responded. South Africa have worked for years to get tothe level of where they’re at and it is going to take us the same timeto get up there.I don’t expect to see it overnight. You probably won’t see it foranother year or so, but certainly we know where we want to go.

The Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) is pleased to announce that Western Power will renew its partnership with WA Cricket next season, as the major sponsor of the Western Warriors and of the Western Power regional junior cricket program – Australia’s largest regional junior cricket program.The Western Power – WACA partnership continues for another 12 months the powerful four-year association between two successful, high profile WA-based organisations capable of delivering world class performance.Western Power is the leading electricity provider in WA and the Western Warriors are a dominant force in Australian cricket – having won the domestic first-class competition (Pura Cup) 15 times and the Australian domestic one-day competition (ING Cup) 10 times.Through their sponsorship of the WACA, Western Power has rights to the Western Warriors and naming rights to the regional junior cricket program which benefits tens of thousands of children across regional WA.Western Powers’ sponsorship of the Western Warriors ensures that a WA company continues to support one of the State’s leading ambassadors.WACA Chief Executive Kath White said the WACA was pleased Western Power was continuing its support of State cricket and regional junior development."Western Power has stepped up again to support something that involves the entire WA community, right across the State," said White.Western Power Managing Director David Eiszele said the community partnership with the WACA formed part of the corporation’s commitment to the WA community."The WACA is part of the sporting and cultural fabric of WA.""The Western Warriors have an outstanding record of on field success that makes them proud and consistent competitors.""Our experience of the WACA’s commitment to regional junior development continues to impress us. Our backing of this program complements our role as a prominent service provider to people throughout regional WA."Warriors’ captain Adam Gilchrist echoed the sentiments."Western Power’s support for State cricket is very important especially in country areas at the junior level where kids need to be given every opportunity to grow as individuals and develop their skills," he said.Gilchrist added that having a Western Australian organisation involved was a real positive."All the players feel great pride playing for their State and having Western Power there again to help is really good news."Western Power has been the major Warriors sponsor for the past four seasons and sponsor of the regional junior development program since the 1997/98 season.As well the Western Power – WACA community partnership also allows the State under-17s, 19s and colts to compete at a national level further helping Western Australia to maintain its premier position in the Australian cricket competition.

Batting first against Warwickshire at the delightful Orleton Park ground, MCCA failed by some 30 odd runs to post a competitive total.Howitt and Dobson looked comfortable, adding 64 for the second wicket in 18 overs, but after Howitt’s unfortunate run out and Dobson’s acrobatic caught and bowled dismissal, the innings went into decline in spite of an attacking innings of 32 from Nagra. Ian Westwood bowled his off-spinners accurately, taking 4-42 off his 10 oversWarwickshire’s cause was helped by two dropped catches just when some pressure was being applied. Thirty-nine extras conceded was evidence of some undisciplined bowling which assisted the visitors to a 6 wicket victory with 8 overs to spare. Cornwall’s Justin Stephens was the pick of the bowlers with 2-22 off seven overs.

Somerset County Cricket Club licensee and bar manager Mike Smith has rounded off his season in style by winning the Courage Golf Day.Whilst Somerset have struggled out on the pitch this season and been relegated in both the County Championship and the NUL National League Mike has enjoyed considerable success on the golf course in 2002.His latest triumph came at Royal North Devon which is one of the oldest golf courses in the country and is situated near Westward Ho on Northam Burrows.Mike who is a member of Minehead Golf Club where he plays off a handicap of twelve won the stableford competition with a score of 35 to head the field of well over forty entrants.The bar manager who has become a popular member of staff since joining Somerset in April 1994 still lives in West Somerset and before joining the club he ran the Egremont Hotel in Williton and the Bicknoller Inn.He swept the board at Royal North Devon by coming first in the individual competition, being a member of the winning three man team and also won the nearest the pin contest, to come away with a number of prizes including a cut glass Dartington Glass ice bucket, a Dartington Glass tankard and some golf balls.One of his most memorable shots of the round came on the eighteenth when he drove towards the green with his six iron but when he approached the putting surface could’nt find the ball. After lengthy searching and momentary panic because he needed a par to complete a good card, a sheep that had strayed onto the green stood up to reveal Mike’s lost ball!At the County Ground Mike told me: "I am absolutely delighted with the way that I played in the competition. It’s good to have something to celebrate at the end of a disappointing season for the club."

PERTH, Nov 14 AAP – Victorian cricket captain Shane Warne may feel he spoke a little too soon.The Australian spin wizard said yesterday it could be the Bushrangers’ season to break its 12-year drought in the Pura Cup competition.But he would probably reconsider his words after watching Western Australia hammer his side on a boiling opening day at the WACA ground.The Warriors had already claimed first innings points to be 3-134 at stumps in reply to Victoria’s first innings score of 110.Damien Martyn and Ryan Campbell were both unbeaten on 23.But it only gets worse for the visitors with dashing Warriors captain Adam Gilchrist still to bat tomorrow.Opener Michael Hussey guided the home side to 50 off just 42 balls before partner Justin Langer (10) was caught behind chasing a wide ball from Michael Lewis.Warne introduced himself with the score at 1-74 off 17 overs and it took the master leg spinner just eight balls to dismiss Chris Rogers (12).WA safely negotiated within five runs of the Bushrangers’ tally before promising all-rounder Cameron White removed Hussey (56) with his third delivery.Campbell was fortunate to still be there after being dropped at first slip by Warne and almost being run out by Brad Hodge at cover in the third last over on 17.Evergreen West Australian quick Jo Angel (4-29) and young left-arm seamer Michael Clark (4-33) earlier led a much-improved display from the Warriors’ pace quartet.The Bushrangers’ batting lineup was easily cracked through consistent line and length and a couple of questionable hometown rulings.The competition leaders lasted only 51.5 overs and 216 minutes in very warm conditions after Warne opted to bat on a track which had a few noticeable cracks before the first delivery.Opening bowlers Matthew Nicholson and Paul Wilson (2-18) set the tone early, restricting the scoring rate to a trickle.Wilson removed opener Jon Moss (4) after he padded up to a ball which appeared to be going well over the stumps.The 34-year-old Angel dismissed Klinger (4) and then Hodge (11) just before lunch after the gifted right-hander played a lazy shot off the back foot and was caught behind.Clark trapped former NSW batsman Graeme Rummans (1) in front to close the visitors’ wretched first session at 4-47.But the Warriors’ disciplined bowling effort was sustained after the break with Wilson ending opener Jason Arnberger’s (28) 137-minute knock.White (13) became the second unlucky victim of the umpires, with Clark’s delivery crashing high onto his front pad.Angel then put a stop to Darren Berry’s (8) scratchy knock before taking a fine return catch low down to remove Warne (25).Clark cleaned up the tail removing Lewis (5) and bowling Will Carr (0) first ball to be on a hat-trick next innings.Gilchrist celebrated his 31st birthday by taking four catches while national teammate Langer spent a short time off the field with a stomach complaint.

A masterly innings of 197 by Michael Vaughan, his third Test hundred this season and the highest score of his burgeoning international career, was the centrepiece of an entertaining England reply to India’s 357. It was the highest individual score in Tests between England and India at Trent Bridge, and the best of Vaughan’s first-class career. When bad light ended play nine overs early, England were on 341 for five, just 16 runs behind.Vaughan’s innings included an array of off-side strokes of characteristic elegance. He was missed once, on 30, off Harbhajan Singh in the last over before lunch, a difficult, leg-side chance to wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel. Otherwise he utterly dominated on both sides of the wicket, pulling both Ashish Nehra and Sourav Ganguly to the rope at mid-wicket with real ferocity.Nehra took the first England wicket, when Robert Key tried to pull a short ball that lifted less than he expected. All he got on it was glove, and to his dismay the ball then bounced back on to the stumps. Key (17) had put on 56 with Vaughan. It was India’s only wicket of the afternoon session. Mark Butcher, also strong on the off-side, was missed by Harbhajan – a difficult return catch as the batsman played too soon.Butcher survived a confident appeal for a catch by Wasim Jaffer in the gully off Nehra, when replays didn’t confirm whether the ball had carried. He had reached 53 (115 balls, eight fours) when he edged a turning delivery from Harbhajan straight to Rahul Dravid at slip. Butcher and Vaughan had added 165 for the second wicket. Nasser Hussain then encountered a rare failure in recent outings; sweeping at Harbhajan, he presented Patel with his first Test scalp as the ball ballooned up off his glove.John Crawley, after looking secure for three quarters of an hour, had made 22 when he got an inside edge on to his pad to be caught in the gully off Zaheer Khan. But the arrival of Alec Stewart upped the tempo again, as two crisp boundaries through mid-wicket off Harbhajan hoisted England’s 300. Vaughan was within just three runs of a double century when he drove a trifle tiredly at Ajit Agarkar, for Patel to pouch a thin deflection. His 197 had included 23 fours and came off 258 balls.Earlier India kicked on to their total of 357 thanks primarily to a rumbustious half century by Harbhajan, who provided tremendous entertainment while adding 61 off 62 balls with Zaheer. Coming off just 33 balls, Harbhajan’s was the second-fastest fifty in Indian Test history; only the great Kapil Dev, who reached the landmark off 30 balls against Pakistan at Karachi in 1982/3, has got there quicker.The fun ended for India when Harbhajan got a leading edge to Steve Harmison, to be caught by Hussain running in from extra cover. Matthew Hoggard, switching ends, then found Nehra’s outside edge with a perfect outswinger.

Today at the Glamorgan Media Day, Ysgol St Curig Primary School in the Valeof Glamorgan met some of the Glamorgan cricket stars as a reward for winningtheir local schools indoor cricket competition. Led by Teacher RhodriJones, they met with Test star Robert Croft to announce a brand new welshmedium pack for teachers in Wales to help brighten up lessons using cricketas a theme.Over the last two years the CBW has been placing in Welsh Primary schoolsthe “Howzat” cricket resource to help teachers teach cricket. This wellpraised pack also helps teachers in their delivery of key stage 2 curriculumfor Physical Education, English, Maths, Science, ICT, Design & Technology,History, Geography, Art & Design and PSHE. Within the cross curricular packare a set of worksheets which have been translated and produced into Welshwith the help of S4C.These translated small packs clip in to the Howzat file and have beendespatched via the Local Authorities to all 444 welsh medium primaryschools.Mark Frost Director of Cricket said:”We have been placing the complete resources in schools up and down Walesand this now adds to an excellent teacher aid for all schools where learningis via the medium of the Welsh language. I am really pleased that welshmedium schools will have the benefit of making lessons more interesting byusing cricket to add some colour!”

If former South African coach Graham Ford wishes his successor Eric Simons anything, it is mostly that his bowlers stay fit. "It helps if you’ve got a settled attack," reflected Ford this week. "It helps quite a lot."Ford, who is weighing up his future options as he negotiates a settlement with the United Cricket Board, is as well-placed as any to understand the pressures and demands that will now placed on the shoulders on the 40-year-old Simons as South Africa head into a summer that includes the 2003 World Cup."I’ve spoken to Eric about coaching quite a few times," said Ford this week. "We have similar views on a number of things. I think he’s a quality coach and I wish him everything of the best. But it will be important to him to stick to his principles and the methods that got him the job in the first place."He’s going to experience a lot of pressure from the outside, from ex-players, the media, the public and administrators as he steps up into the spotlight and the simple truth is that you can’t please all these different people."In a sense it’s a bit like the things you tell young players when they make the step up: you’ve got where you are now by doing things a certain way so don’t try and make yourself a different player. Stick to what you know and what works for you," said Ford.In one respect, Simons may a significant advantage over Ford. "The way I understand it from what I’ve read, Eric’s role has been much more clearly defined. He’ll play a significant role in planning strategy and he’ll be working with knowledgeable people. If he can get the right strategy and the selectors give him the players to implement this strategy, South Africa will have an excellent chance of winning the World Cup."Also in Simons’ favour, suggests Ford, will be the relationships he already has with the Western Province members of the national team."I know I was criticised at times for being `too friendly’ with the Natal players. I think it was unjustified. If you come out of a provincial set-up you have those relationships and you use them to build relationships with the other guys in the team. I can assure you, and it will be the same for Eric, that when you’re in the job, the last thing you think about is petty provincialism. You just want the team to win."Ford believes that notwithstanding the results against Australia during the past summer, South Africa have to be counted among the favourites to win the World Cup.""Look at our record at home. You have to go back to when Australia were last here, back in 1997, for a defeat at home. And over the past few years, we haven’t just been beating other countries, we’ve been hammering them."Apart from ourselves and Australia, I’ve always admired the way Sri Lanka play one-day cricket, but a lot will depend on how well the adjust to our conditions. Pakistan have the firepower to use the new bouncer rule in our conditions, but they’re always an enigma. They often seem divided among themselves and you don’t know how their problems at home, with tours being cancelled, will affect them. Maybe they’ll be a little short of cricket, maybe the problems will pull them together."New Zealand are very much a team and their success is always a team effort. They have a game plan and they stick to it, but I’m not sure they have the individual players capable of taking games away from teams like South Africa. India have fantastic batsmen and if they progress in the World Cup they’ll be fantastic to watch because it will mean their batters are firing, but I don’t know if they have the attack to win the World Cup in South African conditions."In a different way I don’t know that England could go all the way. They’re an improving team, but I don’t know about winning the World Cup."South Africa’s prospects, though, could depend on how well the attack functions."I think that’s where we fell short last season. If you look at how settled the Australian attack was compared to how many guys we used, there was quite a big difference. We had injury problems, of course. Someone like Mfuneko Ngam was not available while when we got to Australia guys like Allan Donald and Nantie Hayward had been troubled by injury and they, along with someone like Steve Elworthy, weren’t quite sure what roles they were expected to fill."We batted well enough a lot of times, but our bowling often couldn’t contain the Australians. If we can get the bowling settled and firing, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t win the World Cup."

Somerset County Cricket Club have confirmed that long serving all rounder Graham Rose is retiring from the first class game at the end of this season.All rounder Rose, who is thirty eight years old joined the Cidermen in 1987 and since then has appeared in nearly 250 first class matches for the county, scoring over 8500 runs and taking almost 600 wickets. He has also made many invaluable contributions in limited overs matches for the county.In his benefit year of 1997 he enjoyed probably his best season for the county and was voted All Rounder of the Year after scoring 852 runs and taking and 63 wickets, and in many peoples eyes was unlucky not to receive international recognition.Earlier this week Somerset Chief Executive Peter Anderson paid tribute to the veteran all rounder when he told me: "Graham has a wonderful first class playing record and was a dedicated professional, a fine example to all those around him. Having played most of his cricket in the second eleven for the last two seasons his enthusiasm and dedication to the game did not diminish, and if young players wanted to know how to conduct themselves all they had to do was to look at him."Mr Anderson continued: "In his pomp he was the leading English all rounder and quite why he never got a One Day England cap is quite unbelievable. At that time the selectors never looked west."He concluded: "On a personal level Graham was always a thorough gentleman to deal with and never indulged in the silliness that goes on now. He will be a credit to any profession he chooses to follow and we wish him and his family all the luck in the world for their future."Right to the end the all rounder has remained totally involved in the club and on Monday he played in the Minehead CC side that won the Rob Turner Benefit six a side tournament, and later on in the week was still busy training with the youngsters from the second eleven.

India’s loss against Zimbabwe at Faridabad was not the first timethat they snatched defeat from the very jaws of victory. India’spoor one-day record at the Nahar Singh Stadium now looks evenworse after the stunning win that Zimbabwe pulled off in thefirst match of the five-game series on Thursday.

It must be stressed, however, that the record has nothing to dowith the ground, the weather or any external factors. India’sfailure to close the match in their favour was caused by someabject fielding and incompetent bowling that came to the forewhen it mattered most.The Indian captain did not do his team any favours through poorlythought out field placements and bowling changes. Sourav Gangulyneeds to readjust his thinking cap and seriously think about onfield strategy. Such matters will go a long way in determiningIndia’s fortunes in the 2003 World Cup.The real mettle of a player, captain or umpire shows only when heis under tremendous pressure. We saw, in the recent Delhi Testmatch, how a few individuals wilted under the pressure. It was nodifferent in Faridabad, with number 10 batsman Douglas Marillierplaying a do-or-die innings, even as Ganguly and his boysliterally stood benumbed by the onslaught.The body language of the Indian team in the last five overs ofthe match was that of a team trying to defend, when all theyreally had to was pick up two tail-end wickets to finish thegame. The pressure also got to the umpires, one of whom handedout a poor decision against Tatenda Taibu.Fortune is determinedly partisan to the brave; Marillier playedone of the most stunning one-day knocks in recent memory. I mustsay that the self-belief this Zimbabwe team has shown on the touris simply superb. I had mentioned this crucial element in myprevious column as well.Having said that, I thought Zaheer Khan bowled superbly. He wasby far the best bowler on the day, although he completely lostthe thread in his final two overs. In spite of the Marilliermiracle, I single out the 111-run partnership between Andy Flowerand Alistair Campbell as the one that laid the foundation of thesensational victory.Chasing a target of 275 was never going to be easy, especiallyafter Zaheer Khan had made early inroads by picking a couple ofwickets. The senior Zimbabwe batsmen, however, played with a lotof determination against the double-spin attack of HarbhajanSingh and Anil Kumble. If Andy Flower had not fallen to Kumble,attempting an ambitious shot, those two would have made it lookmuch easier for the visitors. Campbell also played an innings ofcharacter – the hallmark of the Zimbabwe team.I thought the Indian batting plan almost worked to perfection. Itwas a good idea to open with Dinesh Mongia, and the Indianbatting line-up had remarkable depth to it even without theservices of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. It wasparticularly pleasing to see Ganguly and Mongia make usefulcontributions, as also the responsible manner in which VVS Laxmanplayed.Ajit Agarkar seems to relish the slog overs, and the quick-firepartnership of 63 runs with Mohammad Kaif helped India to post animposing score of 274. Zimbabwe’s bowling looked a bit overenthusiastic, and it was, on the whole, a disappointing show bythe visiting bowlers. Instead of attacking on just one side ofthe wicket, they bowled on both sides and gave away many runs inthe process. Zimbabwe’s fielding was, as always, very good, butthey were made to look ineffective as the Indian batsmen calmlyexploited the gaps in the field.All credit to Zimbabwe, therefore, for a remarkable victory.India’s pride has been damaged with this loss at home, and theresult will make the next encounter at Mohali a truly engrossingaffair.