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Bigger disappointment....undoubtedly given his talent it has to be Hooper who for me was the most talented Windies batsman I've ever seen yes including Viv an Lara but his ave of 36 not far off Kregg ave 32 has to be a bigger disappointment.....Kregg ave is exactly where it should be given his talent or LACK Of ...as a matter of fact he probably exceeded expectations!!!

In reply to CCW

Dude there is no comparison. Hooper won us games, and his bowling very more than handy.

Hey like you din understand.....i was comparing their batting averages ONLY as to who was a bigger disappointment given their relative talents ...NOT Hoopers all round ability ...if i said Hoops batting under achieved whilst Kregg did aswell as could be expected given his talent or lack of ...would that be a fair statement????

In reply to CCW

When one looks at Kraigg's teenage batting stats, he woefully underperformed in tests. I would put them as equal underperformers but perhaps with Hooper slightly ahead as he batted in the era when WI still had good batsmen while Kraigg could justifiably complain that he was supposed to shoulder the entire burden of WI batting.

In reply to CCW

hooper...he actually had talent...loads of it....too bad he had the mental fragility of glass and the concentration of a flea with autism

In reply to PalsofMine

because as has been shown, barbados is producing crap cricketers in every facet of the game. if you're playing against mediocrity, then your figures will be inflated

Allyuh think a batting avg differential of 4 runs mean nutting? If you'll were comparing 46 vs 50 one would be very good and the other great. 38 vs 42? One would be avg and the other good. Suh tutty 2 vs tutty-6 tell mi seh one was mediocre/below avg the other average

In reply to Brerzerk

Same so.

Hooper could actually bat

Kraigg cannot bat

In reply to Jumpstart

Maybe would have been the perfect pupil for a sports psychologist.....all the God-given talent but .....if I'm not mistaken Steve Waugh once said Hooper is mentally weak whilst he is mentally strong and is why he fancied bowling at him an getting him out which i think he did if im not mistaken!!

In reply to CCW

exactly. steve waugh is one of the least talented players ever....but he averages over 50 and is a certified test great. hooper is probably the most gifted batsman in history. and he finished with an avg of 36. Imagine Brian charles lara having to hoist a WI batting lineup on his shoulders with a batsman like carl hooper in the side not pulling his weight. Part of hooper's problem was that only holding consistently called him out for poor performances. People like Cozier were never as severe on him as they were on lara for things he did, things he didn't do, things they think he may have done. I remember Jimmy Adams recalling how lara score 100 off 80 balls in antigua against the aussies in 1999, which was the innings following the 213 and the greatest chasing innings of all time, 153 n.o. and Adams said serious cricket people in the west indies accused lara of batting too quickly. Hooper by the way, played in the last two tests of that series, did nothing in the first three innings and scored a half century when the match was already lost. Even when he came back, he had one very two good series versus india, who would have had the second weakest bowling lineup he would have faced as skipper(zim being the first). When stronger attacks like SA and especially Sri Lanka in SL on doctored pitches with murali and vas at their peak, he was totally absent.

yes Lara did cause WI that test match and the trophy by batting too quickly and not batting Oz out of the match.

as the premier batsman and THE MAN it is paramount that one understands his role in the team

Lara was the team- the mainstay of the batting- all depended on him

as was seen when he got out

a slow 90 would have done the trick or better yet a slow 100

In reply to CCW

Of course you can dispute it as you wish

In reply to Jumpstart

Viv threatened to drop him and he made one of the best Lords ton. Men say even Viv came out and watched some of it.

In reply to Jumpstart

Steve Waugh with his little medium pace lollipops got into his head an psyched him out dismissing him 6 times the most for OZ even more than the great Warne!

In reply to Brerzerk

unfortunately the leadership after viv wasn't strong at all and his career was allowed to atrophy. but that is where personal development and hunger comes in. it should never reach the point where somebody has to threaten your place in the team. I don't know if carl ever sat himself down and really thought about what he wanted to achieve in cricket

In reply to CCW

The saddest aspect to Hooper’s career, he was a teammate, of the arrogant and self absorbed Lara.

In reply to Edrich
yes. continue to blame the self absorbed lara for hooper's failure. typical of people in this region to blame other people for their problems

In reply to Edrich

Can't disagree with that!....apparently he allegedly told Hooper when they were batting together ...you look after the singles an leave the boundaries to me...or words to that effect!....as if he was talking to tail ender!!

In reply to CCW

And? lara was more consistent than hooper. lara was averaging 60 while hooper was averaging 30. adams gave insight into wht their partnerships didn't work