Hooper Plays and Misses

Eight of the ten Test captains will meet with the International Cricket Council (ICC) at Lord?s in London on Monday to put forward their views on the running and management of the game at the highest level, but West Indies captain Carl Hooper won't be among them.

In a news release from its Lord?s headquarters yesterday, the ICC simply stated that Hooper "will not be attending" with no further explanation. Nor will the West Indies have an alternative representative.

While Australia have nominated Test player Darren Lehmann, leading Yorkshire in the current English county season, to take the place of the absent Test captain Steve Waugh, no one has been delegated to act as proxy for Hooper.

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) chief executive, Gregory Shillingford, explained yesterday that the ICC sent personal invitations to captains, not to their boards. As such, the WICB was not in a position to choose a replacement.

"We only facilitate the ICC in passing their invitation on to the captain," Shillingford said. "It is his prerogative to name someone to take his place if he is unable to attend but it appears he has not done so, instead preferring to send written submissions."

Shillingford said Hooper had returned to Australia, where he resides with his wife and young son, after the series against New Zealand in the Caribbean earlier this month.

"I understand Carl will send his written submissions to Monday?s meeting," he said.

Vice-captain Brian Lara was the likeliest choice as substitute, or, for convenience sake, Daren Ganga, captain of the Windies 'A'? team currently on tour of England.

Hooper misses the opportunity of putting forward his views and those of his players on some of the major issues of the day in a face-to-face meeting with ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed, cricket manager Dave Richardson, the former South African wicket-keeper, and head of the anti-corrpution unit, Lord Condon.

During the recent series, he spoke out against the protracted international home season and the Duckworth/Lewis system for determining the result of interrupted one-day internationals.

Captains confirmed to attend the meeting are: Stuart Carlisle (Zimbabwe), Stephen Fleming (New Zealand), Sourav Ganguly (India), Nasser Hussain (England), Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), Khaled Mashud (Bangladesh), Shaun Pollock (South Africa) and Waqar Younis (Pakistan). Darren Lehmann will stand-in for Steve Waugh (Australia).