Brian Lara highlights Viv Richards' role in Carl Hooper not reaching his potential

Former West Indian batsman Brian Lara released a book that serves as a record of his cricketing journey in the 1990s titled ‘Lara: The England Chronicles’ that released on July 2nd. In an excerpt in the book, Lara makes a bold claim that former West Indian all rounder Carl Hooper possessed more talent than Lara himself and even the legendary Indian cricket batsman Sachin Tendulkar. “Carl was easily one of the best players I've ever seen. I would say that not even Tendulkar and myself 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 near to 50, so he enjoyed the responsibility. It's sad that only as a captain did he fulfil his true potential,” Lara remarked. 

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Brain Lara recollected Carl Hooper’s century at Lord’s in a test match against England in 1991 in a game that ended in a draw. Lara highlighted that Carl Hooper’s response to West Indian batsman Viv Richard as a captain could have resulted in his career prospects getting curtailed. “People would ask why he didn't do full justice to his brilliance, and you know what, there is no clear reason for it. But I will say this: Viv used to make me cry every three weeks, but he would make Carl cry once a week. Viv's tone of voice is intimidating and if you're not strong enough, you can take that personally and be affected by it. I was never really affected by it. In a way I welcomed it, because I was so much under his arm that I knew abuse was coming and I was a strong personality. I know for a fact that Carl shied away from Viv Richards,” Lara added.