Hooper in limbo

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jan 6 (Reuters/AP): Former West Indies batsman Carl Hooper will not represent Guyana in the Busta Cup because his Australian club has refused to release him.

The Australia-based Hooper, who retired from international cricket in April, was appointed captain of Guyana last month and was due to return to the country shortly after the New Year.

But the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) said Hooper "failed to secure the release despite his own best efforts, several calls to the club's management by the president of the Guyana Cricket Board Chetram Singh and an appeal from the president of the West Indies Cricket Board Pat Rousseau."

Meanwhile, a Carlton Cricket Club official on Thursday rejected claims that the Melbourne club was preventing Hooper from returning to Guyana to resurrect his international career.

Carlton spokesman Gary Schickerling said the former West Indies vice-captain had not asked to terminate his contract.

Schickerling said comments by Guyana Cricket Board president that the club's directors were forcing Hooper to honour his contract, which expires in March, were inaccurate.

Singh said Hooper told Guyana officials of his intention to return to the West Indies and told them that he had been given verbal clearance to do so. But, after being named Guyana captain, Hooper reportedly said that his request to quit Carlton had been overturned by club officials.

But Schickerling said the claim was news to him.

"We've heard rumors surfacing but all my enquiries have been answered in the negative," he said. "We knew he has been under pressure to return home to the West Indies because they aren't travelling well (after a Test series loss to New Zealand) but he hasn't said anything to us."

Guyana's first match starts on Friday against champions Barbados at the Kensington Oval.

In Hooper's absence, Neil McGarrell has been appointed captain of Guyana. "We had hoped that with so many inexperienced players in the side that Carl would have been available to give guidance and leadership," Singh said.

Trinidad and Tobago host the Leeward Islands in Penal in the opening Busta Cup match starting on Thursday.

The two other matches - Barbados versus Guyana at Kensington Oval and Jamaica against the Windward Islands at Arnos Vale in St Vincent - begin on Friday.

The return of the 32-year-old allrounder, a veteran of 80 Tests and 183 one-day internationals for the West Indies before his surprise retirement last April, would be a major boost to West Indies confidence in the buildup to a series of internationals against Pakistan and Zimbabwe starting in March.

However, West Indies Cricket Board rules dictate that players must participate in domestic first-class matches to be eligible for national selection.

The West Indies domestic competition was due to start Thursday, meaning Hooper would have to leave Australia immediately to qualify for national selection.