Well said, Hooper - well played, West Indies

Tony Becca

WEST Indies captain Carl Hooper is not a man who talks much. Whenever he does talk, however, he is worth listening to - as was the case on Sunday after the Windies' emphatic victory over Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.

After losing 18 and drawing one of their previous 20 Test matches away from home, it was a special occasion for the West Indies, and like every West Indian, Hooper was happy.

In his post-match interview, however, he calmly reminded, not only that there was still another match to come in the two-Test series, but that Zimbabwe are no Australia, no South Africa, and that while the West Indies have shown some improvement, there is a long way to go - a lot of work still to do.

According to the captain, it was nice to win but things should be looked at in its proper perspective.

"There are still areas which need brushing up, and I think we need to keep this victory in context," said Hooper. "No disrespect to Zimbabwe but they're not one of the strong teams around."

That was wonderful coming from the captain, and if he continues to temper celebration with common sense assessment of the strength of the opposition, it will be good for the development of the young players. It will certainly keep their feet on the ground.

It is important to note, for example, that while the West Indies were not at their best due to injuries, although they suffered more, so too were Zimbabwe who, even at their best, are numbered among the weak teams.

In his attempt to put the performance into its proper perspective, however, Hooper did not fail to compliment the players - and that was also wonderful.

"I thought it was still a good victory, a total team work," said Hooper - and regardless of the opposition, it was a good victory.

For a team like the West Indies these days to go into a Test match without three of its leading bowlers (pacers Cameron Cuffy and Mervyn Dillon and spinner Dinanath Ramnarine) and its top rated batsman (Brian Lara) and win - especially by such an impressive margin as an innings and 176 runs - is a lovely achievement.

On a pitch tailor-made for batting, the West Indies blasted Zimbabwe for 155, they then powered their way to 559 for six declared, and after Zimbabwe were sailing along at 164 without loss, they nailed them for 228 while grabbing all 10 wickets for 64 runs.

As Hooper said, it was a total teamwork, but although pacers Reon King and Pedro Collins, left-arm spinner Neil McGarrell, and batsmen Ramnaresh Sarwan, Hooper himself and Marlon Samuels all did well, although Sarwan and substitute Leon Garrick took two great catches, special praise must go to batsmen Chris Gayle and Darren Ganga, and pacer Colin Stuart.

Apart from scoring 175 and 89 while posting 214 for the first wicket, Gayle and Ganga batted beautifully - particularly the left-handed Gayle whose stroke selection demonstrated that he is maturing quite well.

Stuart is still guilty of bowling too short too often. His performance in the second innings when he picked up the first three wickets, however, was impressive.

Bowling from close to the stumps - so close that he hit them with his bowling hand on one occasion, Stuart bowled fast and straight, and the result was three leg before wicket decisions.

Hooper is right. Zimbabwe are not Australia, they are not South Africa, and there is still work to be done. There is nothing as sweet as the taste of victory, however, nothing that motivates like winning, and what is important is that the West Indies won - and in style at that.

What is also important is that regardless of the quality of the attack, the young batsmen showed that they can score runs - that the West Indies can score runs even without Lara.

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