Bridgetown (Barbados), May 28 (IANS) Impressed with the talent pool at Sagicor High Performance Centre (HPC), former West Indies captain Carl Hooper says the past champions can still make a big impact in world cricket.

Hooper, the newly-appointed batting consultant at the centre, says he is genuinely surprised by the talent pool at the HPC, located at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies in Barbados.

"From what I have seen here and what is being channelled into the development of West Indies cricket, I am happy to be part of this development. We are certainly going in the right direction.

"Getting young cricketers involved and helping them in every way is certainly going in the right direction. It definitely will help. I can see us coming back up in world cricket," he said.

Hooper, who lives in Australia, said: "I was away (from West Indies) for a while and you would see the game on television, but now that you get close and actually see the guys playing it is clear there is still a lot of talent around."

The 44-year-old started work with the emerging players earlier this month.

"Having an academy is a great thing for West Indies cricket. The good thing about it is that you have your best young players assembled together and they get to work together as a team. The efforts and emphasis, as is being done have to be placed on academies at the developmental levels, if we are to see an improvement in the game."