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Carl Hooper put a lifetime of underachievement finally and firmly behind him yesterday, appropriately on the ground he has always called home.His peerless 233 on the second day of the opening Cable & Wireless Test was not simply the highest innings by a West Indian at Bourda.It was as much belated vindication for the thousands of Hooper’s celebrating fellow Guyanese in the stands and his host of loyal fans throughout the Caribbean who have always been adamant that it was only a matter of time but for whom time was running short.Hooper, now 35 and in his 93rd Test, brought an unsatisfactory average of 35 into the match, but has now joined only three other West Indies captains, Denis Atkinson, Clive Lloyd and Brian Lara, who have scored double-hundreds.Incredibly, given the usually placid nature of the Bourda pitch and the great players who have batted on it, his was only the third Test double on the ground following the Trinidadian Clifford Roach’s 209 against England in the inaugural Test in 1930 and the New Zealander Glenn Turner’s 259 in 1972.As was the case on the first day, when he, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul combined to rally the West Indies from the insecurity of 44 for three to 270 for four, it was again an all-Guyanse show.Hooper and Chanderpaul, contrary in everything but their country of birth, extended their partnership from its overnight 113 to 293 against the lacklustre Indians whose bowling in the uncompromising conditions lacked penetration and whose tactics were short of imagination.Chanderpaul’s enterprising 140, studded with 23 fours, was his third Test hundred and his second at Bourda. No Guyanese has made as many at home, another staggering revelation given the quality of so many who have preceded him.It was no less personally significant for the neat eft-hander that was the double for Hooper.His appearances for the West Indies have been severely restricted by injury and illness in the past three years in which he has missed 17 Tests.His misfortune clearly affected the self-confidence of a batsman once the most reliable in the team and his average plummeted from the mid-40s into the high 30s.The fifth-wicket stand between the two was a Test record for all teams against India and the basis of a formidable total of 494 for seven when drizzle and fading light halted play with 21-and-a-half overs available.Notwithstanding the placid pitch, greased-lightning outfield, inexperienced bowling and the presence of Sachin Tendulkar in the opposition ranks, it should be enough to put pressure on the Indians.Hooper and Chanderpaul are the ideal combination, the former right-handed, all graceful power and sweet timing, the latter left-handed, short on finesse but with strong wrists, an eagle eye and a keen sense of placement.Hooper had a scratchy start on the opening day, when he might have been out to his first ball and again when he was 10, but he was impeccable throughout yesterday.Not one of the 172 balls he received in moving from 108 to his eventual 233 caused him any serious concern. He added two sixes and 15 fours and they came in all directions with strokes of every description.There were deft cuts, savage pulls, lofted strokes off the legs, drives that took the breath away, neat paddle sweeps.Chanderpaul was no less punishing, so confusing the Indian think tank that they briefly positioned a solitary leg-side fielder, at mid-on, for the medium-pacer Sanjay Banger to try to check him. The tactic was quickly abandoned as he slipped two fours to the vacant fine leg.The left-hander did have an anxious moment or two. He was 94 when he edged the veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble past slip’s right hand to the boundary, clipping his next ball for three to reach his cherished landmark quarter-hour before lunch.A smile, a raise of the bat and genuflection on the pitch marked his gratitude. After that, a dizzy spell that brought attention from trainer Ronald Rogers, a desperate dive to avoid a run out and a close lbw call from the left-arm Zaheer Khan were his only alarms.Zaheer finally removed him lbw in the best spell of the day as Chanderpaul was beaten coming forward by his 290th ball. His 23 boundaries from the 290 balls be received were indicative of his form, the pitch, the lightning fast outfield and the bowling.Zaheer quickly repeated the dose for Junior Murray and, at the opposite end, Hooper finally fell to Sarandeep Singh’s spectacular tumbling catch running in from long-leg off the perserving Kumble.Hooper had launched Kumble onto the top of the antiquated scoreboard at square-leg for his third six the ball before but found the top-edge attempting a repeat.He occupied ten hours 35 minutes for 402 balls and tallied 29 boundaries in addition to his sixes, only one that sneaked through the slips early in the piece in the direction other than that intended.He left to a standing ovation from fans who had waited 15 years for an exhibition such as this. It was far, far better late than never.

Dougie Brown and Neil Smith guided Warwickshire to a famous victory in a classic Benson and Hedges semi-final with Lancashire at Old Trafford on Friday. It was a game which does justice to 31 years of the competition, which ends this year. The pair, both England internationals, added 60 from 64 balls for the seventh wicket as the visitors held their nerve in an incredible finish.But it was Neil Carter, Warwickshire’s pseudo Englishman, playing on a Britishpassport, who swept his first ball – and the final ball of the match – for four to hand Warwickshire victory by one wicket. Carter, who pinch-hits for his county occasionally, was unfazed and ran off the field to embrace Brown who had fallen victim to Andrew Flintoff’s wonderful arm from the penultimate ball.Brown and Smith came together after a flurry of wickets had threatened to stop Warwickshire’s victory chase in its tracks. With a mixture of power hitting and deft touches, they kept the visitors in the game and the run rate manageable. John Wood, who had bowled with admirable accuracy, conceded two boundaries in his final over. Kyle Hogg conceded another four, which would have been six had Graham Lloyd not brilliantly palmed the ball back at long-off. Next ball, Smith went for another big shot and was easily caught at long-on for 29.Ashley Giles was well caught by Mark Chilton at point, leaving Warwickshireneeding more than a run a ball with two wickets left. Brown kept his cool, then Carter ensured his picture would make tomorrow’s papers with a boys’ own final ball.Chasing 212 for victory on a sluggish pitch, Warwickshire’s reply fluctuatedthroughout. Glen Chapple removed Nick Knight, nibbling outside the off stump, in his first over. Shaun Pollock found the off-side boundary before Lancashire captain Warren Hegg brilliantly stumped the South African down the leg-side.Jim Troughton joined Ian Bell, who looked like settling down for the long haul. Troughton, the 23-year-old who hit a century and a fifty in Warwickshire’s last Championship game, was the more expansive partner. He hit beautifully through the off-side, as left-handers tend to do, punishing any width with a gleeful flourish. Bell’s settled technique will see him representing England in the near future, and he was content to nudge singles. The pair added 60 before Chris Schofield, who looked more minor counties than Test match bowler, trapped Troughton leg before.Just as Bell was threatening a match-winning innings, he hooked the accurate Wood to 18-year-old Hogg, who took a fine running catch in the deep. Trevor Penney soon followed, and with Andrew Flintoff working up some pace, it was looking like a glum trip home for the Bears. But Brown and Smith, both consummate county performers, were not prepared to lie down and took Warwickshire towards victory with some old fashioned hitting.Unfortunately, the impact of an excellent century will be diminished. Chilton, Lancashire’s 25-year-old opener, continued his good form in the competition with 101. Hegg must have questioned his decision to bat first after Lancashire slumped to 36-3 on a cloudy Manchester morning in front of a crowd more interested in the fortunes of England’s football team. Realising his limitations, and those of the sluggish track, Chilton set himself up to bat through the innings. Though he only hit four boundaries in his 146 ball knock, it was a fascinating century. The innings earned him the Man of the Match award, the scantest conciliation.Chilton was educated at Manchester Grammar, Michael Atherton’s old school, and batted with an uncomplicated stubbornness which Atherton would have admired. He was unfazed when Smith dropped a sitter, and he was lucky to win the benefit of the doubt on several leg before decisions. Uncomfortable against the spinners, Chilton nevertheless utilised a chip shot, over the infield but bouncing before the sweepers, to good effect.Chilton found an ally in Flintoff, whose 41 was compiled with uncharacteristic patience. The pair added 89 in 21 overs, Flintoff’s only extravagance an edged straight six from Giles’ bowling. Giles and Smith kept good control after Pollock had been wonderfully miserly in his opening spell.Mini contributions followed down the order from Graham Lloyd, who tried every variation of the reverse sweep in his 18, and Hegg, who snicked a couple of boundaries. Pollock finished the innings off with two wickets in two balls and figures of 4/27 which did not flatter him. His length at the death was admirable. Carter also bowled well, picking up three wickets, including the dangerous Neil Fairbrother. At the interval the game looked closely balanced. Despite this, such thrilling conclusions are rarities to be savoured. In time, even the Lancashire players will realise they were in a terrific game.Warwickshire will play Essex in the last Benson and Hedges final on Saturday22nd June.

When will it end?The depressing sequence of inevitable West Indies defeats was extendedto No. 5 yesterday after South Africa taught them a lesson in how todefend a seemingly modest total.Utilising conditions that were friendly for bowlers, South Africadisplayed the tenacity that have made them one of internationalcricket’s most feared teams.For once, the West Indies appeared to have a genuine chance of winningafter they restricted the visitors to 190 in mainly overcastconditions at a packed Queen’s Park Oval.The South Africans, however, admirably defended the type of totals theWest Indies could not in previous matches to the extent that they wonby a relatively comfortable margin of 53 runs.They bowled straight for the most part, produced a few wicket-takingdeliveries and fielded with their customary efficiency in spite of thedistractions over the recent revelations of marijuana use by some oftheir team members.West Indies’ response to the target was encouraging for a period. Theypassed 100 with three wickets down, but as the asking rate keptincreasing, so too did the fall of wickets and the last seven fell for29.By the time they were all out for 137, many fans were already on theirway home.It was the West Indies’ fourth lowest total at the ground, but Hooperrefused to blame the pitch.It wasn’t the best track that we played on in the six games, but itwasn’t poor by any means, he said.The ball kept a bit low but South Africa worked and got 190 on it andwe struggled to even get 150. I don’t think you can blame the wicket,but it wasn’t the best One-Day wicket.Instead, the West Indies captain was singing a familiar tune.It’s disappointing to set games up and then not being able to finishthem off, Hooper said. We can’t drop in the towel and get negative anddisillusioned. We’ve got to keep working hard and try to rectify theareas which are giving us problems.West Indies found the pitch even more challenging than South Africadid and it took them the better part of four overs for their firstrun, courtesy of a no-ball from debutant Andre Nel which ShivnarineChanderpaul edged to the ‘keeper.Nel did get his just reward when Daren Ganga edged a beauty to firstslip.It made way for Brian Lara, who immediately raised the tempo instroking 41 off 63 balls. The Prince of Port-of-Spain was just aboutgetting into top stride when a combination of his misjudgment andJonty Rhodes’ typically outstanding fielding silenced a crowd of morethan 20 000.Lara pulled Justin Kemp through mid-wicket and mid-on off successiveballs and 11 were taken from the 26th over when he and ShivnarineChanderpaul were indecisive over a single to point. Lara virtuallygave up and he was well short of his crease when Rhodes’ direct throwhit the stumps at the bowler’s end.Struggling ChanderpaulChanderpaul (27 off 84 balls) never came to terms with the surface orthe bowling and most of the spectators were relieved when left-armunorthodox spinner Paul Adams spun one away from him for Mark Boucherto complete the stumping.The match was still in the balance at 108 for three in the 38th overbut Nel delivered telling blows in consecutive balls by dismissingHooper and Ricardo Powell. Even if the pitch was not the easiest forbatting, the West Indies bowlers should still be given credit fortheir control after Hooper asked South Africa’s new-look XI to batfirst on a strip with an extra tinge of grass.With the exception of a third-wicket stand of 92 in 21.5 overs betweenNeil McKenzie and Kemp, South Africa, who made four changes from theline-up that wrapped up the series three days earlier, struggledagainst an attack in which almost everyone played his part.The leg-breaks of Dinanath Ramnarine were expensive after he came onat the half-way stage, but Cameron Cuffy, Corey Collymore, KerryJeremy, along with the off-spin combination of Hooper and MarlonSamuels each chipped in with two wickets apiece.Cuffy and Collymore, in for his first match of the series, applied theearly pressure to the extent that the first ten overs produced only 20runs.By then, Cuffy’s sharp break-back had accounted for Herschelle Gibbs,whose run-scoring and off-field activities have commanded just as muchattention in recent days.The tall Vincentian removed Boeta Dippenaar after he laboured 37 ballsfor seven runs. Cuffy’s inward movement earned him a lbw verdictbefore South Africa recovered through the aggression of Kemp and themore measured strokeplay of McKenzie, who showed little effects fromthe hamstring injury that sidelined him for the previous four matches.Especially strong off the pads, McKenzie counted eight of SouthAfrica’s 14 boundaries in an innings of 73 off 117 balls. He was theone who looked likely to boost the total to over 200, but Collymorekept him scoreless for three balls in the 41st over before removinghim with the help of a diving catch by wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs.Before McKenzie went, Hooper tightened West Indies’ grip with adouble-strike in successive overs. The victims were the dangerousKemp, whose 46 included a stunning six over long-on off Jeremy, andJacques Kallis, bowled between bat and pad attempting a nondescriptshot.The West Indies captain was again tight throughout his ten overs andwhen Samuels replaced him after 40 overs, he was just as effective inclaiming the wickets of Pollock and Paul Adams.Jeremy, under the microscope after he was not given a single ball inBarbados, conceded 28 runs from his first six overs, but came back totake two wickets in a commendable second spell.

No breach of the bargaining protocol occurred when New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden released his side’s documents in the dispute with New Zealand’s players into the public arena two weeks ago.The New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association (NZCPA) had sought mediation on the matter claiming Snedden had breached the protocol.Snedden denied the claim and according to a joint release made by both parties today it was accepted that neither party had breached the protocol.The mediation did result in a reconfirmation by both parties to the bargaining protocol while concerns of the NZCPA were clarified in relation to the confidentiality provisions.Both parties agreed that:In the event any one of them should place information into the public domain, then any other party shall be free to comment publicly on that information.If one party should present information within the negotiating process then that information shall remain confidential to the parties and not be referred to the media or else where without the prior consent of the presenting party.

The Standard Bank Cup, the premier South African Domestic limited overs competition, got off to a flyer with 975 runs being scored in the two opening matches played on 8 November.Easterns, the recently crowned first class champions, were beaten by North West in Potchefstroom with Arno Jacobs walking away with the man of the match award after scoring 118. A 123 run partnership with Davey Jacobs set the Dragons up for a total of 259/8 in their allotted 45 overs.In reply the Easterns ended 22 runs short after starting off well. Two quick run outs, that of Zander de Bruyn and Derek Crookes, put a stop to the flow of runs with Easterns finishing on 237/9.In Bloemfontein the home team was set up for their 59 run win, and a bonus point, with Morne van Wyk becoming one of only a hand full of players to score 150 runs in a domestic limited overs match. A partnership of 146 with Jimmy Adams, ending on 64, allowed Free State Eagles to reach 249/4.A good start from Adam Bacher (54), Daryll Cullinan (30) and 28 from Warren Dugmore was all that Gauteng could offer in resistance eventually bowled out for 210.With a shortened season bonus points are going to play a major roll in finalising the semi-finalists come January 2003. Free State will be well pleased to have started on a good wicket.

Nasser Hussain was not flinging idle praise around when he termedMichael Vaughan’s 197 one of the best innings he had ever seen fromthe blade of an English bat. The classical opener’s highest firstclass score was quite definitely an innings that would done the bestof his tribe proud.

Vaughan’s shot selection on the day he held everybody in thrall wasadmirable, with his driving off the back foot in particular being ofsuch a high order that former England all-rounder Vic Marks was movedto liken it to that of the great Peter May.The Yorkshireman was helped in no small measure by the Indian bowlers,who played a significant part in the transformation of the 27-yearold, whom many had previously marked as the ideal replacement foranother Michael – the very correct and very stodgy Atherton – into abatsman who tore the opposing attack to shreds.Pitching short and spraying the ball everywhere, India’s bowlershelped the England opener feel at home immediately upon his arrival atthe crease. High on confidence after his hundred in the England secondinnings at Lord’s, Vaughan was not in the mood to miss out on sucheasy pickings.With dozens of short-of-a-length deliveries on offer, the regionbetween point and third man naturally proved a productive one,yielding as many as 43 runs. Another area that provided runs by thebucketful was mid-wicket, where Vaughan creamed as many as 44 throughfine back-foot pulls and front-foot drives. It is also telling thatonly 20 runs out of 197 – a measly 10.15 % – came in the vee betweenmid-off and mid-on. On that Trent Bridge wicket, India should havebeen pitching the ball up much further, allowing it to swing and usethe juice in the wicket. If Vaughan had made 197 with the bowlerssticking to the appropriate length, many more runs would have come offstraight drives.

The sole variety in the Indian attack – Harbhajan Singh – wascountered by either staying on the back foot and playing the fineflick, or by sweeping. The pitch afforded only slow turn, enablingVaughan to play the offie on the back foot, something not normallyadvised on more vicious tracks. Harbhajan Singh only helped thattactic along by constantly drifting to leg, unable to bowl the classicoff-spinner’s line just outside the off. The success of Vaughan’sstrategy is best represented by the fact that he scored 27 runs in thefine-leg region and 11 runs to the square-leg against the Harbhajan.Harbhajan also made another fundamental error, not only againstVaughan but against the rest as well. Not once did he succeed inflighting the ball and luring Vaughan into the expansive drive.Ironically enough, then, it was Vaughan who, in India’s secondinnings, reminded everybody of the efficacy of that classic offspinner’s tactic. The ball with which he brought about SachinTendulkar’s downfall was exactly the kind that Harbhajan himselfshould been attempting.

Pakistan Customs stormed into the final round of the National One-day Cricket Championship with an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Karachi Whites in the last Pool ‘A’ fixture at National Stadium here Wednesday.Karachi Whites, who sent in, were bundled out for 163 in 48.4 overs despite skipper Arif Mahmood’s 50 off 81 deliveries. The burly all-rounder slammed six boundaries after coming to the crease with the Whites in tatters at 61 for five.Arif and Shahid Iqbal, who made 38 off 60 balls with four fours, were involved in a sixth-wicket partnership worth 74. Among top-order, only opener Maisam Hasnain managed to enter double-figures. He hit six fours in making 28 off 61 balls.Pacer Waqas Chughtai claimed three for 25 while spinners Salman Fazal and Tabish Nawab chipped in with two wickets each, giving away 31 and 33 runs respectively.Customs made a shaky start when they lost opener Shadab Kabir for a duck in the first over of the innings. Fellow left-handers Azhar Shafiq (25) and Kashif Siddique (17) had also perished with their side still 104 runs away from the target. But skipper Aamir Bashir and the bearded left-handed Asim Kamal guided Customs home with both scoring unbeaten half-centuries.Aamir Bashir struck exactly 50 off 107 balls with the aid of three fours while Asim stroked 57 off 99 deliveries. His knock was studded with four hits to the fence.

Stung by a heavy defeat in the opening game, Pakistan has forced Super Challenge II into a series-deciding clash at the ‘Gabba next Wednesday after registering a hard-earned two wicket win over Australia in Melbourne tonight. Spirited bowling was complemented by patient batting as the tourists dug deep into their reserves of skill and commitment to secure victory with seven balls to spare.Unlike Wednesday’s series-opener, this was a high-standard encounter. As a contest, it had much to offer too, with Pakistan waiting until the last half-hour of a prolonged arm wrestle to genuinely secure its win.The sophisticated strokemaking talent of Younis Khan (56*) was the key, delightful footwork and crisp hitting allowing him to persistently guide the ball through and over the field on a day when almost every batsman struggled. Crucial, too, was his patience in a difficult period in the middle of the innings during which spinners Shane Warne (2/49) and Darren Lehmann (1/17) rudely interrupted the progress of Yousuf Youhana (29), Rashid Latif (16) and Shahid Afridi (3).Pakistan’s pursuit of the paltry Australian total of 167 had sputtered into difficulty at various stages of the evening session as wickets were frittered away at regular intervals. But the young right hander was able to play the lead role in partnerships of 35 with Latif; 19 with Wasim Akram (10); and 18 with Waqar Younis (8*) to haul his team back from the potential ruin posed by scorelines of 3/21 and 5/85.Earlier, the direct hit run out of Saeed Anwar (0) from mid off, and the departures of Imran Nazir (6) and Azhar Mahmood (4) in the space of a single Brett Lee (2/44) over, had posed grave threats to the satisfactory progress of the Pakistan innings.In truth, though, Australia should never have been given a chance to win after a typically explosive opening to the match from Akram.Amid cold conditions, the teams had played a slow-burning match to mark the beginning of the series three days ago. As Akram (3/18) set to work, though, this one could barely have exploded into life any faster.The first serious questions of the afternoon – not to mention the prayers of the series’ promoters – had been answered when Lee and Shoaib Akhtar were included in the respective elevens. There still remain few players as pleasurable to watch in full flight as Akram, however, and it was the 36-year-old former Pakistan captain who duly stole all the headlines once play commenced.In a frenzied beginning, the redoubtable left arm paceman struck with the first and third deliveries of the match, initially finding a feint outside edge as he drew Adam Gilchrist (0) into nibbling at an outswinger of exceptional quality. Ricky Ponting (0) then made a similarly forlorn exit when a defensive shot caused the ball to jam off a combination of bat and pad, and loop in a gentle low parabola to the jubilant bowler.Fellow members of the upper order should have been quick to join their captain and vice-captain among the ranks of the fallen.But Jimmy Maher (12) survived a pair of desperately close lbw and run out decisions and Damien Martyn (56) encountered two anxious moments of his own, top edging the ball just short of fine leg as he hooked at Akram with his score at 3 and then benefiting from a controversial decision with his score only four runs advanced.A mistimed pull at Akram had sent the ball toward Waqar at mid on, and the Pakistan skipper initially appeared to have clutched the ball cleanly just above the turf. Neither Martyn nor umpire Darrell Hair, standing only a short distance away from Waqar, seemed fully convinced, though, and an ensuing series of replays failed to shed further light on the catch’s validity for third umpire Simon Taufel.Pakistan paid a heavy price in that Martyn’s escape set the stage for a defiant 66-run stand for the fourth wicket with Lehmann (31).On a pitch again offering consistent pace and bounce – as well as appreciable turn at times – it was only when Afridi (3/28) proceeded to encourage Martyn to cut a low catch to backward point that the tourists redressed the balance. The leg spinner swiftly made further important breaches of the home team’s defences when he trapped Shane Watson (8) and Warne (1) on the line of the crease.Akhtar (2/30), the speed of whose deliveries peaked at the match-high reading of 151.9 kilometres per hour, then mopped up the remnants of the innings by bowling Andy Bichel (7) and having Michael Bevan (30) caught behind while cutting.The Australians ultimately lost 5/29 in the closing stages of the afternoon session to pair a poor finish with the disastrous start that they had made after winning the toss.

Since Somerset County Cricket Club gained first class status in 1891, over five hundred and fifty different players have represented the club, and in the near future the Somerset Cricket Museum is hoping to produce a book containing a statistical and photographic record of each of these players.Over the last few months local author Eddie Lawrence, who has already published several other books relating to the club, has been working tirelessly in association with the museum to produce the book which is now nearing completion and it is hoped that it will be published just before the start of the 2003 season.The book will be hard bound and will be strictly limited to five hundred copies, each of which will be numbered and signed by Eddie Lawrence, and those who are prepared to purchase their copy in advance have got the chance to have their name included in this prestigious publication.When the book eventually goes on sale to the general public next year it will be priced at £30, but those who sign up and pay before the end of 2002 will be able to obtain their copy for £25 as well as being named in the list of subscribers.This will be the first publication of its kind and has presented the author with a real challenge. Despite his endless hours of research and countless letters, telephone calls and many many miles travelled there are still some fifty players whose photographs Eddie Lawrence has been unable to locate.Nevertheless this book will be another milestone in recording the history of Somerset County Cricket Club and I am sure that there will be no shortage of takers from fans and collectors who will want to support this venture.Anybody who wishes to reserve a copy of `Somerset CCC Statistics and Photographs’ should send a covering letter and cheque to the value of £25 made payable to Somerset Cricket Museum to The Curator, Somerset Cricket Museum, 7 Priory Avenue, Taunton, TA1 1XX.

West Indies cricket teams have been faced with desperate situations inthe past few years and today is no exception.Down 1-3 in the seven-match Cable & Wireless One-Day Internationalseries against South Africa, they go to Kensington Oval this morningin a must-win situation to keep alive their hopes of winning thetrophy.We need to get desperate from this game, but it shouldn’t have come tothis stage, captain Carl Hooper said yesterday after a morningpractice session that attracted a large crowd at Queen’s Park.We should have been desperate a long time ago to pull even with theseguys.Hooper and the West Indies are still upbeat about their chances.But against the background of three successive, comprehensive defeats,there are others who have a dim view.A general worker at Kensington said yesterday it might be easier forLord Nelson or Bussa to wuk-up than for the West Indies to win amatch.He might be among a small group, but the truth is that in the lastthree encounters, the West Indies were hardly competitive.And Hooper knows it too.A couple of games ago I was trying to emphasise that I was a bitconcerned about the bowling, he said.The batting is now a problem as well.We’ve played four One-Day games so far and our highest score is 220.That is a bit worrying given the fact that sometimes we have played asmany as eight batters.We must bat and bat properly. Regardless of if we bat first or last,we must be able to give the bowlers a score that they can work with.Hooper himself is peeved he has not been able to convert his promisingstarts into significant contributions. In every match, he looked theclass batsman we know he is, but returns of 43, 48, 29 and 46 haveunderstandably frustrated his followers.Obviously I am disappointed with the 40s. I’m not making any excuses,he said.The times when I have got out, they have been 10, 12, 15 overs left. Icould have gone on to get, if not a hundred, 70s, 80s, 90s.After two defeats by eight wickets and another by 132 runs, thebiggest margin of victory for the South Africans in 22 One-DayInternationals against the West Indies, Mike Findlay and fellowselectors have made adjustments to the 14-man squad that was utilisedfor the first four matches.There is a recall for opening batsman Daren Ganga, whose record in theshorter form of the game hardly suggests encouragement.The 21-year-old Trinidadian, who takes Ricardo Powell’s place at thetop of the innings, averages seven in as many matches. His techniqueand temperament, however, are as good as anyone else’s in theCaribbean.Ganga had two difficult tours South Africa and Australia and he hasbeen given the opportunity here in the Caribbean in conditions that heis familiar with, Hooper said.The second and final change in the squad is perhaps the mostinteresting.The inclusion of leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine ahead of left-armerNeil McGarrell, could prove decisive in the middle of the innings.There is a possibility that Ramnarine may try to bowl outside the legstump as he did so effectively in the Antigua Test, but it could be abit of a risk in the One-Day game.Ramnarine has got a part to play. We’ve been struggling to takewickets in the middle overs, Hooper said. He’s been brought into thesquad so he can play that role and pose a bit more variation and punchto the attack.In the first four matches, South Africa were able to launch theirinnings with calculated aggression which has caused the West Indiesmajor problems in containing them in the first 15 overs.In successive matches, by the time the field restrictions were eased,South Africa had raced to 67, 70, 88 and 74, and in each match theWest Indies took just one wicket in that period.Herschelle Gibbs, in particular, was very successful in charging thefast bowlers, but Hooper said there wasn’t a likelihood a spinnerwould be given the new ball to counter the problem.A spinner has been introduced before the 15 overs and hasn’t provedthat effective, the West Indies captain said.Opening with a spinner with the new ball is a big ask. Even though Ihave been successful in bowling in the middle stages of the game, Idon’t think it is something that we want to do.