Hooper, who led the Caribbean side in 22 Tests, said Thursday he believed Test cricket remained the game’s most intriguing format.
“I think too much of it (T20) will be [a threat to Test cricket], yes,” said the 42-year-old who arrived here on Tuesday to participate in the CLOBI Cup, a Twenty20 international masters tournament which started yesterday.
“Sooner or later the die-hard cricket fans, you’ll know when it’s enough [of the Twenty20] because they’ll stop coming through the gates as they are now. Nothing can beat a good Test match though.”
Hooper, who starred in 102 Tests for West Indies between 1987 and 2002, said he preferred Test cricket though he had played a few Twenty20s in English County cricket.
“I’ve played some Twenty20 cricket, not for West Indies, for Lancashire. It looks like it’s here to stay as I think obviously it’s appealing to the spectators seeing balls flying left, right and centre,” said Hooper who now resides in Australia.
“I think it’s good, I enjoyed it. I played for two years for Lancashire. It’s not my cup of tea, I still prefer Test cricket.”
The elegant right-hander scored 5762 runs before quitting international cricket after the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He was considered to have one of the finest techniques in the game but only managed to average 36 with 13 centuries.
Hooper said he expected administrators to be drawn to the game’s shortest form because of the costs and profits involved.
He also pointed to the global economic downturn as another reason why Twenty20s were attracting larger crowds than Tests.
“I think the crowds are down because obviously there is a lot of money in Twenty20 cricket today and I suppose when you look around at the economic situation in most countries – and this filters down all the way down to the cricket boards – it’s much easier to put together a Twenty20 tournament than say a Test series,” Hooper contended.
“There’s less time spent, less money invested for more returns but of course … at the end of the day they’ll know when it’s being overdone but as long as they keep making money, it will be here [but] Test cricket will stay.”
The CLOBI Cup will involve West Indies, England, Sri Lanka and South Africa battling for honours in the tournament which ends on December 5.
