New Delhi: West Indies legend Brian Lara recently hailed his former teammate Carl Hooper as one of the best payers he has ever seen. Lara, who is regarded as one of the best batters of all time, claimed neither he nor the legendary Sachin Tendulkar came close to Hopper in terms of talent. Known for his swashbuckling batting, Hooper enjoyed a successful international career for West Indies.
Tendulkar and Lara are considered two of the best batters of all time. Some of the records set by the duo remain unbeaten in cricket. While Tendulkar is the leading run-getter of all time in international cricket and the only man with 100 centuries to his name across formats, Lara (400) holds the record for the highest individual score in Test history.
The West Indies legend is the only batter in the history of Test cricket to have breached the 400-run mark. His record for the highest individual score still stands and looks unlikely to be broken anytime soon. Both Lara and Tendulkar share great mutual admiration for each other thus the incredible praise for Cooper from the West Indies legend is special.
“Carl was easily one of the best players I’ve ever seen. I would say that not even Tendulkar and I would come close to that talent. Separate Carl’s career from playing to captaining and his numbers are very different. As a captain, he averaged nearly 50, so he enjoyed the responsibility. It’s sad that only as a captain did he fulfil his true potential,” Lara wrote in his new book, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Hooper made his debut for West Indies in 1987, three years before Lara, who played his first international match for the team in 1990. Hooper went on to play 102 Tests and 227 ODIs, amassing 5762 and 5761 runs in the two formats respectively. Hopper notched up 13 centuries and 27 fifties in Tests and finished his ODI career with 7 centuries and 29 half-centuries.
Viv Richards loved Carl Hooper more than me
Highlighting how special and highly rated Hooper was in the West Indies cricketing circles, Lara revealed that the legendary Viv Richards loved him more. Lara said Richards usually didn’t want anyone to be better than him but had a special fondness for Hooper and showcased his love for the former West Indies batter.
“Viv Richards never cried down on a person because he didn’t want them to be great like him. His sternness was who he was, but he never wanted you not to do well. It was just how he was. And look, Viv loved Carl. Much more than he loved me, that’s for sure. But the way Viv shows love didn’t resonate with Carl,” Lara revealed.
West Indies legend Brian Lara named a batter who he felt was more talented than himself and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
