Our reporter Clyde Pestano yesterday sought the opinion of some members of the public with regard to the performance of the West Indies team who have lost the first two test matches of the current England tour. Here are some of their comments.
Basil Persaud - DJ, 98.1 FM: I think there are some good players in the team but they are not performing to the best of their abilities. It has to be that there is something wrong at the head.
I think Lara should be replaced and the guys would feel better and play better. In my opinion seniority counts and Ridley Jacobs is next in terms of seniority. He did well with the team in Bangladesh and even though he may be nearing the end of his playing career he is our best bet right now. He is the most suitable person.
No I don't think we will lose the series 4-0, at least we will be able to draw one game. We have to salvage some pride.
Desmond Watkins - former coach, GCC: I'm a die-hard West Indies fan and it grieves me what is happening to our cricket currently. I think our decline could be attributed to the fact that when we were on top we neglected to put in place systems and plans that would have ensured our continued success.
The players we have today simply lack the will power to fight. I don't think we should replace Lara at this point but if we had to my choice would have been between Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan.
We will not go down 4-0 even though that is what the English badly want.
Max Perreira - member, GCC: The only solution to our present crisis is to bring back Clive Lloyd. Lloyd as manager will surely instill discipline and the right attitudes to once again bring back high standards to our cricket. Clive and Rohan Kanhai together in the management of West Indies cricket can go a long way towards restoring our flagging fortunes. With these two gentlemen on board Lara will have to curtail his delinquency or go.
If we were to have a new captain I would go for Chanderpaul. He has the experience. I have nothing against Jacobs but he is surely in the twilight of his career.
I think our players should resist getting a whitewash at all costs and get even a draw. England desperately wants to beat us badly because of the licking we have given them in the past at home and in the West Indies.
Garvin Nedd - former Guyana cricketer: I feel the problem is that we have made too many of our talented players stop playing too early in their careers. We see players in their early 30's put by the wayside because people feel they are too old, but I think that they are not finished and are quite mature at that age. In addition, the Englishmen are professionals and there is no doubt in my mind that they have employed technology to study our players and have worked on ways at taking advantage of flaws in their batting.
I don't agree with replacing Lara. At the moment I don't see a suitable replacement so he should continue as captain.
I still believe we can win or at least draw one of the two remaining tests.
Cyril King - cricket enthusiast: The board (WICB) seems to be putting away older players who can have an impact on our game in the Caribbean. I believe the problems started since the time of Desmond Haynes who was sidelined for no adequate reason and this was also the case with Clayton Lambert. In addition I believe that they are guys who are stepping to the plate too early and the WICB should put on hold this current policy of picking players on the basis of one or two good innings.
If I had to I would replace Lara with Chanderpaul.
We may draw one game but I think it is virtually impossible for us to win in Barbados or drawing that match.
Johnnita McAulay - student, Brickdam secondary: To improve the players must be more intellectual. They can't be partying after they have just lost a game. They should be sitting down together and discussing what went wrong.
Yes, I strongly believe we should replace Lara. He is not fulfilling his job as captain. He is accountable and should be held accountable if the team he is leading is performing disastrously. I'm not sure though whom we should replace him with. I hope we don't lose the other two games, but I firmly believe something is drastically wrong with the team.