Hooping It Up In The Apple
Former Guyana And W.I. Skipper Visits New York
By John L. Aaron
Former Guyana and West Indies Test skipper and all-rounder Carl Hooper was in New York during last week for a brief visit, and was unable to escape the adulation of some ardent cricket fans and “Hoops” supporters. Hooper was on his way back to Australia, where he resides with his wife Connie and family, after participating in a celebrity match at the redeveloped Kensington Oval in Barbados, which saw a former West Indies Stars XI go up against a World XI.

Among those in New York who made a determined effort to help make the accomplished former West Indies Test skipper feel welcomed and still loved, were Looknauth Persaud of King’s Jewelry, Romeo Hitlall on NMCRA Connectors Realty and the @venue Lounge, Ed Ahmad of the Ahmad Group of Companies, Al Akbar, a Queens attorney, Jack Bharat of AmeriFunding, along with recent Stanford 20/20 cricket celebrity and former Guyana national player Lennox Cush, current USA skipper Steve Massiah and a host of other friends and well-wishers who rolled out the red carpet for the only player in the world to have scored 5000 runs, taken 100 wickets, 100 catches and received 100 caps in both One-Day Internationals and Tests – Carl Llewellyn Hooper.

The right-handed batsman, who made scoring boundaries seem such an effortless task, was more than gracious in spending some quality time with the individuals mentioned earlier, as well as sharing some of the insights into his new passion of playing the stock market. An endeavor he approaches with the same analytical zeal as batting or bowling. The former Kent and Lancashire player who represented the West Indies over a 21 year span departed for down under – Australia, last Thursday morning, shortly after having breakfast with King’s Jewelry Looknauth Persaud and Ed Ahmad NY Cup chief selector Chris Charran.
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