West Indies rope in veteran Carl Hooper as assistant coach for UAE ODIs, World Cup Qualifiers

Cricket West Indies (CWI) hasappointedformer captains Carl Hooper and Floyd Reifer as assistants to new white-ball coach Darren Sammy for the upcoming UAE ODIs and World Cup Qualifiers. Ex-Kiwiall-rounder James Franklin has also joined the new coaching staff as the assistant coach.

A legend of over 100 Tests and 200 ODIs for WI, Hooper, who now resides in Australia, has coached teams Down Under and in the Caribbean. During the previous Big Bash League (BBL) season, Hooper was Adelaide Strikers' assistant coach and has worked with Antigua Hawksbills and Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), in the past.

The right-hand all-rounder has also served as a mentor at the West Indies High Performance Centre in Barbados.

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The inaugural winners of the ODI World Cup back in 1975, and having won three other ICC tournaments, West Indies were regarded as the greatest team of all time. With time, their cricket suffered a slow death, and now as things stand, they didn’t even directly qualify for the 50-over World Cup later this year.

For them to restore their pride and ensure they are not breaking their streak of appearing in every World Cup, West Indies must stay on the top of their Group in the Qualifiers. Before that, they will face UAE in the first-ever three-match ODIs between both countries.

Hired for the same purpose, Hooper, upon getting picked, said,

"When I was initially approached by Daren about the potential opportunity, I immediately confirmed my interest, as I really want to help with the challenge and make a meaningful impact. I firmly believe that it is time for West Indies Cricket to ascend, and I am confident in my ability, knowledge, and experience to aid in this endeavour,” Hooper said.

Other than them, the board also roped in former players - Kenny Benjamin, Stuart Williams and Rayon Griffith, as assistant coaches who will work with Test coach Andre Coley. All three have been part of the coaching staff in some capacity before.

Meanwhile, CWI said all these coaches have been hired on a short-term basis, and their contracts will get reviewed after the India tour in July-August.

Currently, the West Indies team is in Sharjah for the ODIs against UAE, starting June 4th. They will then leave for Zimbabwe for the WC Qualifiers – where they are placed in Group A alongside the Netherlands, Nepal, Zimbabwe and the USA. That tournament will start on June 18th.

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