Johannesburg: West Indian skipper Carl Hooper slammed a 69-ball century as the West Indies gained an impressive 142-run win over Griqualand West in a World Cup warm-up match in Kimberley on Wednesday.

Playing in a day-night match, as it will in the tournament's opening match against hosts South Africa on Sunday, the West Indies piled up 360 for four in its 50 overs against the team which finished runners-up in South Africa's domestic Limited Overs competition.

Opening batsman Wavell Hinds hit 96 off 83 balls and Ramnaresh Sarwan hit 80 off 87, with the pair sharing a 90-run third wicket stand before Hooper cut loose, hitting nine fours and two sixes.

He and Ricardo Powell (34 not out) scored 75 in an unbeaten fifth wicket stand off the last 6.3 overs of the innings.

Marlon Samuels, the West Indies batsman who was withdrawn from the squad on medical advice after suffering a knee injury, seems set to return to the team after a new medical report passed him fit. He had already been replaced by Ryan Hinds.

Meanwhile Bangladesh gained a morale-boosting five-wicket win over a below-strength KwaZulu-Natal in a day-night match in Durban, where it starts its World Cup campaign against Canada on Tuesday. Ehsanul Haque starred, hitting 92 runs.

Unfancied Namibia followed up a win over Gauteng Tuesday by defeating Northerns by seven runs at Laudium, near Pretoria.

As against Gauteng, it came up against an under-strength side but good bowling by Bjorn Kotze (four for 32) and Louis Burger (three for 28) enabled it to defend a low total of 189 for nine.

Copyright AFP 2001

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