Hooper congratulates Samuels on retirement

Former West Indies captain Carl Hooper was one of the first cricketers to send a congratulatory message to Marlon Samuels after news that the former Windies batsman has ended his international career.

STAR Sports understands that Samuels sent a letter to Cricket West Indies CEO Johnny Grave confirming his retirement, having last played international cricket against Bangladesh in December 2018.

Hooper subsequently sent a text to Samuels congratulating him on his career which spanned 71 Test matches, 207 One-Day Internationals (ODI) and 67 Twenty20 (T20) Internationals.

"I want to congratulate you on your career and wish you continued success. You are a champion," Hooper texted.

Samuels replied via social media that Hooper was a player that made cricket look easy and at times made it look like a joke with his masterful batting, which included his trademark over the cover shot.

Samuels, 39 years old, has since turned his attention to entrepreneurship which involves launching his own fragrance, real estate, and music.

big-game heroics

Samuels will be remembered for his big-game heroics for the West Indies in the two ICC World T20 Championships where he picked up the player of the match awards in the 2012 and 2016 finals.

The right-handed Samuels began his international career in 2000 when he made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka before making his Test debut at 19 years old against Australia.

The former Kingston College and Melbourne CC batsman also had stints in the Indian Premier League with Pune Warriors, the Delhi Daredevils, the Melbourne Renegades, and Peshawar Zalmi.

Samuels' career was not short of controversy as he also carried the tag of 'bad boy of cricket' for some time, after his ban by the ICC in 2008 after being found guilty of 'receiving money' and 'bringing the game of cricket into disrepute'.

The former Jamaica batsman was also banned from bowling after his action was deemed illegal in 2015.

His bad-boy persona was exampled in 2013 when he and Australian Shane Warne had an on-field spat during the Big Bash League, then in 2016, he and England all-rounder Ben Stokes were caught up in a feud, which resurfaced on social media last week.