ADELAIDE, Australia — In the wake of the West Indies’ humiliating 27-run second-innings collapse against Australia — the team’s lowest Test total in history — former captain Carl Hooper has broken his silence, holding Head Coach Daren Sammy directly responsible for what he calls a devastating backward step for Caribbean cricket.
Speaking on ABC Sport as a guest analyst, the seasoned veteran of 102 Test matches didn’t mince words as he dissected the fallout from the defeat at Sabina Park — a loss that completed a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of the world’s top-ranked Test team.
“All the power, all the responsibility”
Hooper was emphatic that Sammy, who also serves as the chief selector, must answer for the team’s disastrous showing in Jamaica.
“Somebody’s got to be held accountable. I think he [Sammy] is also the only selector, so just imagine someone that is picking the Australian team and also the head coach. He’s got all the power so he’s got to be held accountable,” Hooper asserted.
He added, with noticeable frustration, “I know that’s not going to happen; you’re not going to remove him.”
The implication was clear: the concentration of power in a single figurehead could be suffocating development, and the current system lacks meaningful checks and balances.
“One step forward, two steps back”
Hooper’s criticism extended beyond the Sabina disaster, reflecting on what he believes was a premature dismissal of former head coach Andre Coley, whose tenure had, according to Hooper, begun to steer West Indies cricket back on course.
“It’s been so disappointing. I’m angry, I’m upset, because I think we were building a good thing a few years ago.”
Hooper recalled encouraging signs under Coley’s stewardship, particularly the drawn series in Pakistan and the historic Test victory in Brisbane, Australia — a result that had reignited hope across the region.
“The boys came out here and had a Test match win in Brisbane, a drawn series, and then we went to Pakistan and drew 1-1. Fantastic results.”
The former all-rounder expressed frustration that those gains now seem wasted:
“And then, we had wholesale changes. And to see this is the end result—it’s like what we’ve done for the last two or three years, and tried to build something, is just sort of gone up in flames today.”
From strategy to spiral: The Sammy appointment questioned
Hooper zeroed in on the controversial decision to elevate Sammy — a limited-overs specialist and former T20 World Cup-winning captain — to the role of all-format coach, suggesting it marked a reversal in progress.
“We were building something under the former head coach Andre Coley, who we removed and inserted the new Head Coach Daren Sammy, who is our white-ball coach, so he is now the all-format coach.”
“So now, you kind of take one step forward and now two steps backward. Where do you go from here?”
The rhetorical question hung in the air, underlining Hooper’s view that the West Indies are now in a tailspin rather than on a steady rebuild.
Crisis of direction or crisis of leadership?
Carl Hooper’s indictment signals a growing tension within the West Indies cricketing fraternity over the team’s trajectory and leadership choices. With the dust barely settled from the Sabina collapse — and wounds still fresh from an innings total that stunned the cricketing world — serious questions remain:
Is Daren Sammy the right man to lead all formats?
Has Cricket West Indies undermined its own progress by abandoning continuity?
Can the regional game recover from another body blow to its battered legacy?
As the debate intensifies, one thing is clear: accountability is no longer optional — it’s essential.
