Mind games help Carl win over the critics

Two years ago Carl Hooper, overweight and overburdened by worries, was booed off the field at the Kensington Oval in Barbados and vowed he would never play international cricket again.

The former Kent star had fallen over missing a simple fielding stop and incurred the wrath of virtually the whole island. Today, he is back as captain of the West Indies leading the side against South Africa in the Third Test.

Transformed in his appearance, and his beliefs, 34-year-old Hooper will be returning to the same ground, this time as a hero. He is down to his ideal weight of around 13 stone and is batting better than at any other time in his career.

His turnaround has been inspired by two people - his Australian wife Connie and Joe Hoad, a sports psychologist.

Connie, a Christian, has persuaded him to turn to religion. That, together with the responsibility of looking after two-year-old son Carl jnr, has helped him take a different view on life. His wife also convinced the reticent Hooper to return to cricket. He resumed his career with Guyana, where he first played in 1984, and scored 954 runs in the Busta Cup this winter, averaging 95.4.

His runs provoked a campaign around the Caribbean calling for his appointment in place of Jimmy Adams. It met plenty of opposition, but Hooper has now silenced most of the critics.

Hooper has also been influenced by 64-year-old Hoad, son of Teddy Hoad, the Barbadian who captained West Indies in their first ever Test in the Caribbean in 1930.

He has been appointed sports psychologist to the West Indies team in succession to Dr Rudi Webster. He is a former table tennis and darts champion who coached the Australian paraplegic table tennis side and now lives in Australia.

His input has helped Hooper rise to 30th in the world rankings. Now the talented former Kent batsman believes the only way is up.