"More and more embarrassing" - Carl Hooper lambasts West Indies for their Adelaide capitulation
Former West Indian captain Carl Hooper has blasted the team for their abject surrender in the second Test against Australia in Adelaide. Hooper said that he had never played in a team that gets skittled out for below 100.
West Indies' batters had no answer to Australia's relentless bowling in the pink ball Test at the Adelaide Oval. The tourists managed only 214 after Australia declared at 511. The fourth innings saw the West Indies collapse for 77 while chasing a mammoth target of 497.
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Speaking to Fox Sports, Hooper said that he's hurt after the West Indies' capitulation and wondered how low could they plummet to. He said:
"It’s getting more and more embarrassing. I’m hurt today. I’ve never played in a West Indies side that has been bowled out for under 100. Just never. I mean your personal pride means you go out and fight. We’re not fighting to qualify in major tournaments. How much lower can we go?”
The tourists had put up an admirable resistance in the first Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth. They batted for over 100 overs in the fourth innings and managed 333 on the board, led by Kraigg Brathwaite's ton, but lost by 164 runs. However, they didn't come close to doing so in Adelaide.
"We’ve changed captains; we’ve changed personnel" - Carl Hooper
The Guyanese said that the West Indies' downward slide has been going on since 1993 and that no changes have brought fruitful results. Carl Hooper, who played over 100 Tests for the West Indies, lamented the decline, saying:
"Since 1993, we’ve struggled and certainly judging from the results, there’s no policies or systems that have been implemented that is changing the downwards course we’re on. We’ve changed captains; we’ve changed personnel; we’ve changed coaches; it hasn’t worked. So maybe let’s go a little bit higher and get people in these positions that can lead us in the right direction."
Former West Indies captains Brian Lara and Carl Hooper joined the team in the dressing room at the Adelaide Oval and discussed the game with the players
West Indies next assignments are expected to be two Tests in Zimbabwe in January and two Tests in South Africa in February https://t.co/RRDdNlXh96
Their total of 77 in the fourth innings in Adelaide in is the lowest in Australia and the second lowest vs Australia in the format. The Men in Maroon are ranked eighth in Test cricket.