Harper promises competitive show

By Our Special Correspondent

HARARE, JUNE 16. The West Indians flew into Harare and spelt out their plans and hopes for the season with skipper Carl Hooper and coach Roger Harper admitting that it was going to be tough.

``We've struggled in the recent past, but I think we've gained from it. We've just finished a very interesting series against South Africa. Even though we lost we thought we had a lot of positives to draw from it. The ensuing triangular series and Test series against Zimbabwe should give us the opportunity to gauge where we are at the moment in terms of our cricket.

Obviously, South Africa and Australia are the tough teams in the world. But we think we're on par with teams like India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. We've a fair idea at this stage as to where we are.''

The West Indian skipper confessed it had been ``well documented'' that their development system, as far as the youngsters were concerned, was not what it should have been. ``But the Board over the last few years has taken steps to rectify it by introducing a number of foreign teams in local competitions. As far as talent goes we've lot of talented young players. It'll all show in the next couple of weeks. I think the problem is that they have come into a side that has been struggling to actually play well to win games. That means they are immediately under pressure. That doesn't really help, as a young player, coming in. I think we've to get them to feel secure. That perhaps will makes things better,'' Hooper noted.

When comparisons were drawn between Courtney Walsh and Curtley Ambrose, a composed Hooper said ``they were two great bowlers. We are definitely going to miss them. But we've a couple of good youngsters who are willing to fill their places. They obviously cant do well overnight, but if you give them time they will come through.''

How did Hooper look at himself? ``I've some personal goals, but more importantly I need to focus on the team and try and make sure we play as a team and play very, very competitive cricket. That's more important than me achieving personal goals.''

Hooper drew an encouraging picture of the scenario back home. ``Cricket is still alive and kicking in the Caribbean. Of course, there's a lot of American television influence. Obviously people are watching baseball and basketball. But cricket is still very well supported.''

On this tour, Hooper warned, his team was well prepared. ``We're strong enough to take on India.

I have toured Zimbabwe years ago and the conditions always suited seam bowlers. We have five or six good fast bowlers on this tour and we'll explore during the sojourn. Conditions also play a big part in your performance.''

Hooper agreed he had a significant role to play as a captain. ``Basically I'm around to help the younger players come through. My area of involvement is to try along with the coach and manager and help the young players shape up. We've had a number of tours in the past where the team has come into a lot of criticism. As I said earlier after the South African tour there were a lot of positives. Even through we lost 2-1, I thought we were up against a very, very good side. This is a tour where we'll try and launch the resurgence of West Indies cricket and try to put a couple of Test wins together and put the confidence back in the side.''

Harper supported Hooper all the way. ``What we need to understand is that the side of the 80s didn't primarily start in the 80s, a lot of players started in the 70s. They had developed by the time they got into the national team. A lot of those players had the opportunity to finish their learning in county cricket and were really well developed. But the young fellows coming through now do not have the opportunity. I think because of the fact that we were so successful during the period of the 80s and early 90s we became very complacent and did not put up a structure in place that was necessary to ensure that we continue to perform at that level. We're paying the price now.''

It was tough on the current lot to live up to the record and legacy of the past. Harper added ``We would love to achieve their standards. But we need to understand that in the side of the 80s a lot of guys were full-time professionals prior to getting into the team. A lot of young players have not had that exposure.''

Looking at the assignment ahead, Harper announced ``It is going to be very competitive. India has been playing very good cricket at the moment. They had an outstanding series both in the Tests and one-dayers at home against Australia. Zimbabwe is also a competitive side, especially in the shorter version of the game. This tour is going to be a launching pad for us. The transition has lasted a bit longer than we would have liked it to, but when you take everything into consideration I don't think you can expect things to turn around overnight.''

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