Former West Indian opening batsman and Western Province favourite Desmond Haynes remains a popular and influential figure in his native Barbados where he is chairman of the island's cricket selectors and hugely respected figure.

His premature retirement from international cricket remains a hot topic, however, with his court case against the West Indies Cricket Board still pending amidst lingering bad feeling.

WICB's policy of only selecting players who make themselves available to play in the domestic Busta Cup competition remains to this day but when Haynes was dropped from the national side in 1995 he was at the top of his game and ready to contribute enormously to the West Indian cause in changing times.

However he was unable to make a connecting flight from Cape Town to Barbados in order to play in the minimum two Busta Cup fixtures and was promptly axed.

While Haynes remains firmly and deeply involved in cricket, some of the experience he acquired playing 116 Test matches is being channelled into a new direction in Barbados.

Many people say cricket, and particularly Test cricket, is the toughest mental challenge there is in team sport. All the more reason then for Haynes to take on his new role as a spokesman on the delivery of healthare to the mentally ill in Barbados. The former cricketer is to work with a special team "in trying to get the message out to the public on the need to be proactive when it comes to mental health."

No one saw the ball clearer at the top of the order than Desmond Haynes. Now he will be bringing a clear mind to a completely different kind of delivery.

West Indies star batsman Brian Lara has refused to answer any questions on his private life especially relating to his close relationship with English model Lynnsey Ward, who he met last year July in England.

All of this depsite her constant presence at his side both in Australia and recently in the Caribbean during the fourth test and in Trinidad over the Easter Holidays.

"As you know when it comes to my private life, I really do not like to talk about that and to discuss it in public, that is between me and my girlfriend (Lynnsey),"Lara told this newspaper from Jamaica.

On the question that there were reports in the English media on their relationship, a belligerent Lara stated," It is the Daily Star newspaper, they are a tabloid and yes Lynnsey won a contract through them before...but they are like the Sunday Punch in Trinidad, who reads them and when have they had anything good to say in the past."

Contacted after serious investigations in England, Lynnsey Ward confirmed that both herself and her mother (Clair Ward) had spoken with to the Star in the past," Yes Mom spoke with them in the past, but they ran a nasty story and she will not talk to them again, because she did not think she was doing anything wrong, she was just speaking about me."

As for her relationship with Brian Lara, Lynnsey said," I would prefer to talk to Brian first and see what he has to say about giving any interviews before I make any decision on an interview at this stage,"

"I will call Brian and ask him, as we talk every night and then you can call me back on the matter."

However when this newspaper contacted her again, she said they had decided not to speak for now.

There are rumours that several publications in England are offering lucrative deals to the couple for an exclusive publication rights to their story.

Although it us understood that 19 year old Lynnsey would be flying to Antigua on Sunday April 29th to be at Brian Lara's side as he prepares to celebrate his 32nd birthday during the upcoming one day series between the West Indies and South Africa.

Lynnsey Ward was selected from a list of over 1000 girls as the Daily Star's Millennium Babe in 1999 and was given a contract for around 25,000 to 30,000 pounds during this period.

Since the Daily Star first spotted her last September, Lynnsey has been snapped up by top modelling agency Premier and, after eight months in the business, she's been on scores of mag covers. You can catch her around now on the front of Irish Tatler, More magazine and the July issue of Cosmopolitan.

She's also the face and body of top store chain Debenhams' bra campaign and has just shot the in-store autumn lingerie campaign for George at Asda.

There's the option of a three-week shoot abroad for top fashion catalogue Great Universal and Lynnsey was in the running for a photo-shoot in Jamaica with Brides Magazine.

In an interview with the Star Lynnsey who was on contract with them at the time said in September 1999,"I'm really enjoying working in front of the camera and seeing the end results. When I first saw the Tatler pictures I didn't recognise myself. It's a really odd sensation looking at a face and for a moment not realizing it's you.

"My ambition is to be the next Wonderbra model and follow in the footsteps of Eva Herzigova and Adrianna."

With a perfect 34C-24-35 figure and standing 5ft 10ins tall, she's certainly got star quality.

"I keep fit through riding my horse and working, but I'm lucky because I don't have to diet - yet,"she added

"I keep telling myself that there will be plenty of times for boyfriends later," she says. "My mum had three children by my age, but I don't plan to settle down for a long time yet. I've got the kind of job that other girls can only dream of and I'm certainly not going to jeopardize it."

Since becoming our Millennium Babe, Lynnsey's workload has increased by the week. Not only has she modelled for Bhs and Charnos, but she's also shot covers for Maxim magazine and the Irish Tatler.

"The Tatler job was a really classy affair," recalls Lynnsey, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham. "They are going to put my picture on the cover and follow it up with six pages inside.

"Only a few months ago I was doing secretarial work at our local cricket club and now I'm on the cover of an up-market magazine. What could be better than that?"

"Life's just so hectic at the moment," she says happily. "If I'm not dashing off to casting or shoots then I try to go home. I don't have time for a boyfriend and it wouldn't be fair because I'm never in one place for long,"

But all of that has changed now that Brian Lara has come along in 2000

But her 35-year-old mum insists: "Honest to God, she was the ugliest kid in school for years. I used to grab her as she came out of the school gates and cuddle her thinking, 'What a shame'.

Now Claire, who looks like Lynnsey's sister and is her best friend, beams: "I just couldn't be more proud of her."

The gymslip mum had Lynnsey three weeks after her 16th birthday.

She says: "I was seven months' pregnant before I told anyone ... I had some really strict Catholic aunts."

Claire was then living at home with dad Malcolm Ward and her two brothers. And, by the time she was 18, she'd had Kayley-Ellen, now 14, and Jamie-Lee, 13, and had moved in with the children's father Ivan Carr.

"Although Ivan and I didn't stay together, we're the best of friends," she says. "He goes out for a pint with my husband Billy and we all help each other out if there's ever a problem."

But life hasn't always been quite so good for the bubbly blonde mum.

She reveals: "When I was 21 I was diagnosed with womb cancer. The doctors knew there was something wrong before I started expecting Lynnsey and I was due to go for another smear test.

"Then I fell pregnant with Kayley-Ellen and after that with Jamie. I was told I'd have to have a hysterectomy but said I wanted one more baby.

"Then I learned I'd be dead within six months if I didn't go for the operation."

Because Claire's gran died of womb cancer when she was in her 40s - and her mother also had it when she was younger - doctors have warned her to make sure Lynnsey and Kayley-Ellen have regular check-ups.

"It's really worrying," she admits. "Lynnsey's not like me ... she hasn't got a maternal bone in her body.

"Kayley-Ellen is different. She'd love kids. But because she was born with no left ventricle in her heart, she may not be able to cope with being pregnant.

"She was five days old when she had her first op. Then she had another when she was 18 months and another at five. She'll have to have more ... but she's amazing the way she handles it."

It's the competition everyone wants to win because they know it's the only one that counts. Looking fit and fabulous in these latest shots; Lynnsey took time out from her hectic schedule to reflect on the last 12 months.

"It's been amazing!" she chirps. "When I look back at my last birthday, my life was so different."I'd just left school and had got my first job working as a receptionist at the local cricket ground in Chester-le-Street.

"I never imagined that one year on I'd be flying all over the world as a top model and appearing on the covers of glossy magazines. It really has all been like a dream," said Lynnsey Ward.

This Newspaper understands from the Daily Star that Lynnsey Ward has not signed back with them as yet.

In Fact reporter Jerry Lawton told this newspaper," We have not had any problems with her over any article, so I find this strange coming from her, we have never been told about any problems with an article, maybe she is mistaking us for the Mail on Sunday publication,"

HOW SHE MET BRIAN LARA

English model Lynnsey Ward became cricket hero Brian Lara's girlfriend after a taxi driver turned matchmaker. The West Indies idol spotted blonde Lynnsey's picture as he read the newspaper in the back of a cab on this summer's tour of England.

He told the driver: "She is absolutely gorgeous!" And Lara's luck was in - because Lynnsey, 19, was one of the cabbie's regular fares. The driver set up a meeting, and now the pair are cricket's hottest item. - Lynnsey said: "We're very happy together. I've only ever had one boyfriend before and I'm so lucky to have found Brian....We met because he saw me in the paper."

"It's a personal thing between the two of us and it's nothing to do with anyone else."

Lynnsey was a £10,000-a-year receptionist at Durham Cricket Club's Riverside ground in Chester-le-Street when she won our Millennium Babe competition and rocketed to stardom as one of Britain's hottest models.And Lara, 31, was playing for the Windies in Durham when her photo caught his eye.

Her mum, Claire, said: "Brian was in a taxi and reading the paper, which happened to have a picture of Lynnsey."He remarked 'She is absolutely gorgeous!' And to Brian's surprise the cabbie said he knew her because she was a regular customer.

"The driver arranged an introduction and that's how they got together - by sheer chance." Claire, who lives near Chester-le-Street, added: "They seem to get on very well together - who knows where it might lead."

Carl Llewellyn Hooper is back, and he is more determined than ever with the support and love of his family together with the faith and fervour of God's graces to lead West Indies out of cricketing doldrums into the sanctuary of grit, determination and commitment. Hooper also wanted to clear the air on the misguided view that Constance was his second wife.

" Make it very clear that this is my first and only wife.....The sort of relationship that my wife and I have, I don't think you can call it love at first sight....love is something that grows over time, of course there has to be something there to initially start it, but you need to be very careful, I suppose it is experience really that has thought to be careful before going into any relationship,"Hooper told the Caribbean News Agency (CANA).

"But it did not take me very long to realize that Connie was a special woman and it sort of took off from there, but as far as marriage went within the first few weeks that is somebody special, somebody you want to spend your life with,"he added.

Hooper credits the almighty God with a lot of his reincarnation into the model of concentration and dedication currently on display in the Caribbean (scoring 954 runs and capturing 24 wickets in the Busta Cup).

"I was always God fearing but then sometimes in your life, you look at the way things are going and you know that you need to make a change and when you have God in your life, he gives you a lot of strength and determination, in face of a lot of different things,"

"When you have God in your life, you feel as if all the criticism in the world can do you no harm, he is inspiring and leads you along the right path, as you grow older and you marry and have a family, it gives you more responsibility and you enjoy it."

"For me being married to Connie is so wonderful because we now share the bond of a wonderful child, Carl Junior and everyday I see him, he seems to grow and I am so proud of my family and the support they have given me, I would not be able to do none of this without them,"

He admits as well, that he has found solace in the response from people in the Caribbean" It is generally pleasing to hear the comments from the people in the Caribbean, it is these people that we represent, We work for them, without them we would not be able to play cricket."

"I understand that my role is uplift West Indies cricket and I have my own style, it may be different to some, but in the end, it is about getting the best from the team,"

Hooper says, that living in Australia,"has not been a problem, my family accepted Connie and her family have been very good to me, but naturally in my heart even when I was in Australia, there was a lot of feeling for the West Indies team, it hurt to see the way the team was performing on certain days and times,"

"Being a father is something really special, it makes you understand just how important life is and makes you appreciate everything a lot more,"

On the topic of another child, Carl was reflective, "In time, we will see what happen, if it is that it is the will of God, then of course we would both welcome another child,"

"I know this, that with all the travelling from country to country, it makes a great difference to know that you have you wife and family with you at all times."

Hooper is still uncertain of where he will finally live but confirmed that he would share homes in both Trinidad and in Guyana," Well we have the house in Trinidad, so I will certainly be there, but also I may do some coaching at some schools in Guyana during the off-season, so we will have to wait and see what happens with that"

It is hard to imagine Carl Hooper in any role other than as the masterful strokmaker, but this elegant giant of a man at over six feet, is quite smooth," Well I would not say that, I just found that I was very much attracted to Connie and that I could not lose her, so I was persistent and it worked out in the end, I am much more mature now."

West Indies Captain Carl Hooper has only ever had one wife, and she is Australian born Constance Hooper, despite all the speculative reports over the years in the newspapers in the Caribbean," I am his one and only wife, he has never had any other and that is how it has always been, I am not to certain where this talk of another wife has come from over the years, but this is time to clear that up," said Constance Hooper in a rare, exclusive interview with Db for the Caribbean News Agency (CANA)

"I think they have got him mistaken with another cricketer and that has caused this confusion," stated an elegant Constance.

"We have known each other seven years..... we have been together for I think around six years and we have been married for four years, February this year was our anniversary." Constance Hooper admits that when she first met Carl she did not know he was a test cricketer," It was during the day. I had just finished a family function and he had met me through this family function in Australia...(laugh) how boring is that?"

"You ask if it was love at first sight.... but we did not think so then but when we look back now it seems we were destined to be together. I am speaking from the heart. As you know I deeply love my husband. I mean God brought us together and God will keep us together. And as long as we acknowledge that, there is no other way we can go. That is why I feel blessed, he feels blessed and we are very very thankful."

"He asked me what I did for a living then I asked him what he did for a living and when he said what he did I said "Oh hmmn" (laugh) I mean I had gone to university and everything, I had my own company...My family has a media background in Australia, management companies, restaurants and such. Let's put it this way there are probably lots of women who on hearing what he did would say Oh WOW. but I just went Oh Hmmn..."

An attractive looking and intelligent young lady, with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Business, Constance has dedicated her life towards her family and she is extremely comfortable in her new role looking after her two year old son Carl Junior and his Father Carl Senior," Well now I am fully dedicated fulltime mother, but I keep abreast of my business interests, so I do attend the occasional director's meetings when I am there and If I am not there I get copies of the minutes and such...Well I would not say I work hands on in a business as I do not have a 9-5 job...I would say I have family interest in business, as I am involved more at a director level.,"

As for Marriage, this deeply religious young lady with hazel brown penetrating eyes responded," This is a very deep question. to me being married is wonderful in the sense..when you get married in the eyes of God you become one, so wherever your paths lead they lead together, the experiences in life make you the person that you are. Carl and I we have been through a lot together, we have experienced a lot, ..and Oh I get emotional I cannot begin to explain it all to you."

There is a reason for that graceful style and those model looks and it is due to her ancestry, which is not all Australian,"Oh my father died nearly four years ago and I have two brothers (Mark Simon and James Anthony) and a mother.. .. I was born in Australia but my parents were both from Macedonia in Europe, they came to Melbourne when they were 11 (my father) and 7 (my mother) and their families grew up close to each other during the years. so I was brought up in the Macedonia culture...."

Macedonia is famous in the bible as being the birth place of Alexander the Great and Cleopatra (wife of Phillip 11), It is located in the northern part of Greece in the main, but in the past occupied the boundaries of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria.

Constance was born in Melbourne...but now the Hooper family resides in Adelaide, which is only an hour by plane from Melbourne.

Constance admits she was sad when Carl retired but understood fully his reasons even though she admits to not knowing much about cricket, at the start of the interview, though by the end it is revealed she has acquired a fair amount of knowledge being in Carl's company," I think it is a good thing that I do not know much about I think my role is to be supportive of what Carl wants to do...When he retired I was saddened because you know when someone has a lot more to give and you know they have talent and this is from someone who does not know much about cricket. But circumstances have been, the experiences, you know the difficulties we had with Junior..God works in mysterious ways and he..God is great Andre..God is great. but I am equally not surprised he has come back so well No..No..No.."

As a loyal wife, Constance is philosophical about Carl's return to Caribbean cricket this season and the eventual captaincy of the West Indies team,"Those people who are the true true supporters of Carl..well they know who they are...whoever the critics are it is always easier to criticize someone than to praise them. So at the end of the day the best talk Carl could ever do is on the field and that is how he could silence his critics,"

"Honestly, the criticism is like water off a duck's back for Carl. As Carl is so strong mentally, I think he gets even more strength in the knowledge that people are negative. Carl believes in the same philosophy as I that is whenever you hear a negative you turn it into a positive."

Perhaps in addition to the strength given to Carl by his loving wife and lively two year old son, it is God that has added more strength to his comeback," I will tell you this...you know when Carl retired..this is something that is very deep....you know that Carl is a very quiet person ..that is why sometimes people can assume whatever they want, he is a basically an easy target for some of these people..since he retired he has always said..well he has always been a Christian no doubt about that but since he retired his experiences, our difficulties with Junior..his conviction with god is so strong ..so deep than I could even begin to explain. When he retired we went to church for thirteen Sundays in a row because he wanted to give thanks for the twelve years he had had with West Indies cricket.."

Constance believes that Carl always had the concentration we have all witnessed throughout his 954 run 2001 Busta Cup season" I can't see it or I can't comment on that because I don't know....people say all these things and at the end of the day he is my husband and I know that Carl has always given of his best.. I do not know of any person who would want to just get out..you know what I mean? I think it would be disgusting if a cricketer would just get out just for so. I know Carl and he has always wanted to do his best and he has always given of his best and more than anyone else who would be very disappointed when he did not achieve what he wanted to achieve,"

There has been a lot of concern in the Caribbean about Carl Junior, but watching this energetic two year old wave his tiny bat up and down and fight to say a few words is reassuring,"He (Carl Junior) is wonderful. People around the Caribbean have seen him. He is a fun-loving little boy. He is wonderful.. praise God. He is thriving. He is thriving, 4 weeks ago he turned two..but I think it is because we are always talking to him ..I read to him every morning...and he has a mini computer with him to teach him the alphabet this is the age that they learn. As soon as he sees CARL come out TO Bat he says -CARL HOOPER CARL HOOPER CARL HOOPER -,"says a proud mother.

"You know how I said it takes some experience in your life for you to understand everything. You know if you are on a rollercoaster ride and you need to get off the roller coaster ride and look back and say well this and this is happening and then you can get back on the roller coaster ride."

There is one thing certain and that is that the Hooper family intends to remain together as long as possible so that questioned on the amount of travelling involved in cricket, Constance stated,"It does not matter Andre. I have done it all before. What I think is important is to keep the unit together as much as possible. It really does not matter.

"We know for a fact we will be based in the Caribbean for most of the time..Carl's loyalty to the West Indies is no question...I don't question that there is has never even been a discussion it is just natural... No actual idea in which part of the Caribbean...a bit of in between. Obviously Guyana as that is where he is from although both of his parents now live in New York. He hasn't got any immediate family here...but Guyana most of the time and also Trinidad because we have the house there."

Questioned on any plans for another child, Constance calmly remarked," Whenever it is God's wish, whenever that happens. Because of the way I was raised...with a lot of morals. In fact for Carl to ask me out, he first had to ask my family. That will tell you the kind of family I came from. I come from a family with very high morals and a lot of family background. So at the end of the day Carl Junior must be aware that at the end of the day, although he is Australian born he is West Indian just as I believe although I was born in Australia, I am Macedonian so I was brought up in the culture, in fact I speak Macedonian.

so it is very important to me that Junior must know his West Indian roots for at the end of the day his name is exactly like Carl's he is the third.. so when he gets older and he says to people well you know I am Australian born but my father is from the West Indies and my mother although she was born in Australia her heritage was from Macedonia. YOU MUST ALWAYS KNOW WHERE YOU COME FROM... ALWAYS.."

"In terms of family life, I would like us to continue to grow stronger and stronger together. Whatever God has planed for us I know it is going to be better than what it was yesterday. Everything that passes is a learning experience for us and we have to thank God for every living day that we have here. And I believe that if we can leave each day if we can say something positive about what has happened the day before we are all the better for that."

Constance admits it has been testing on Carl to watch the West Indies performances particularly overseas over the years since his retirement," Like watching cricket? Very very very difficult and at the end of the day he is West Indian he cares about West Indies cricket..it has been sad very very sad.

"It was November 4th or 3rd in Australia ..that article that came out..."Carl Hooper says that he still has itchy feet for test cricket". Remember that article...hmmn he retired April 24th..six months after he retired that he made that comment. For him to say that then ...he and only he alone can answer that question."

"Whatever he scores I will be happy.....Andre I think I am very lucky I cannot tell you ... like I haven't seen all day I know he is here he is busy but the love I have for him I can not even tell you.. It is something you feel if you are truly blessed and you are supposed to be with that person.... That is when you have it and when you treat people like how you want to be treated...for whatever you do good you receive good 100%,"she concluded.

There is strong evidence from one of Trinidad and Tobago's jockey that there is indeed an underworld of betting existing in the racing industry in this country.

There are several people in Trinidad and Tobago who question the results of racing on a weekly basis when a major outsider comes and wins a race at odds of 50-1. There are also times when the favourite does not run his normal racing, yet still the racing authorities seem to lie idly by.

It can be exclusively revealed that there are dishonest methods in local racing.

Learie S., a young Trinidad and Tobago jockey who rides mostly in Jamaica told us," That there have been instances in the past, when before they used to come to him, but since he came back to ride in Trinidad for a while, they have never asked,"

"But it has to be stated that there are also a lot of honest and decent people in racing as well,"he noted.

Learie S. also spoke of the various devices used to encourage a horse's performance and the lack of procedures to detect these devices in Trinidad and Tobago,"But also some jockeys ride with illegal things like "shockers" and "batteries", and if the authorities find it you could be banned for life,"he added.

He explained that the detection methods in Trinidad and Tobago are not as advanced as in Jamaica,"In this country there are no checks at the starting gates, but in Jamaica, there are individuals with metal detectors at the gates and if they find you out, you have to pay dearly for that."

"It is a device which can give a shock to the horse and make him speed up his running, in Jamaica if they find you, and they have found jockeys there, they will make them pay one time at the gates,"

But he admitted, that there were ways to hide the device, "in your boots or other locations after the race, or just throw it off at a particular part of the track."

The young talented jockey further added, there are times when other methods are used,"like making the horse break bad...holding up the saddle ...pretending somebody is coming up from behind so you had to move.Then you just fall back and let another horse win..but hmmn"

A lot of the reason for these occurrences in local racing are according to the jockeys because of the low standard of payment and wages still being earned by the jockeys which cause them to look for other ways to earn their living,"They do not pay.the money is no good..Well sometimes if you win the jockey gets a percentage ...like if it $3000 or $4000 to win the jockey get $300 or $400 ..sometimes they feel it even hard to give you your 75$ you have to wait months to get that ...Well win loss or draw a jockey gets 75$...in Jamaica you get if you come in the first six a percentage..Trinidad you have to win to get a percentage

"You only get a percentage on the winner on the second and third place you get something like $40. Before they use to give you a bag of rice..some even go down to $10....."

"In Jamaica, it is 10% right across, well that is Wednesdays and Saturdays.,..so if I place in 10 races I could make 1000$US, while in Trinidad ,Well if you win they take back out the 75$ and then give it to you in a cheque..so if you win 100$ they take out 75 and you get 25$ and they give you that in a cheque....that does not make sense. Sometimes you get $3 on a cheque in Trinidad,"

"Overall there are a lot of areas that could be improved, such as the ambulances following the races, which would help the industry go a long way,"Learie S. stated.

Racing resumed in Trinidad last month after a five-week break, partially due to an impasse between the Arima Race Club and the Minister of Trade and Industry.