Before I even start this article, I will say that I make no excuses or apologies for it. This is not about personalities, despite the severe external stimuli that the insecurity of some of the subjects seems to incur. I do not have any agenda at all. I simply do not want to be conned. In my mind, Brian Lara, as captain of the present West Indies cricket team, has now, simply, degenerated into trying to con the Caribbean.
If you remember, I was the first person to suggest, in 1996, that it was very wrong to allow Lara the captaincy position then. He was just too immature for the effort at that time. My assessment has proved to be right.
In April last year, when he was given the captaincy again, I grudgingly acknowledged the appointment, since he seemed our only possible choice then, with the departure of Carl Hooper. However, Lara has again failed.
The following is the record of Lara while operating as captain of the West Indies senior team, up to the second Test match against England at the Queens Park Oval in March, 2004.
1996-1999:Played 18 Games: Won 6: Lost 10: Drawn 2
Brian Lara
2003-2004:Played 14 Games: Won 3: Lost 8: Drawn 3
The immediate and obvious observation is that the second tenure of Lara's captaincy is even worse than the first effort.
Lara suggests, I can only suppose facetiously, since nothing else makes sense, that "we should not panic at recent results and events," even though we have lost some 42 Test matches from the approximately 65 we have played over the last six or so years. When, would I ask, are we to panic?
There are at least two situations that team captains must maintain, regardless of the actual XI selected.
Firstly, the captain must be totally inspirational.
To be very honest, the last "totally" inspirational captain that the West Indies cricket team had was Ritchie Richardson.
Jimmy Adams, Courtney Walsh, Hooper and now Lara have been nothing but "square pegs in round holes."
Being a good, even great cricketer, does always not make for a good captain. Just ask India's Sachin Tendulkar or even Walsh.
The captain must be able to bring out the best in his players, regardless of who they are. Lara has been singularly lacking in that respect during his two tenures as captain. At least, he is honest enough to admit it, though it seems that no-one heard.
"I am hoping that the senior players in the cricket team could take up their much- needed responsibilities, do their part to help the team, since we need help." This was Lara speaking before the start of the second Cable and Wireless Test match in T&T last week.
If that is not indicative of a lack of inspiration from the captain, then nothing is. Has anyone ever heard Clive Lloyd asking Viv Richards or Deryck Murray for help? These three were almost co-captains, so involved were they together; a captaincy unit. When Viv became captain, did anyone hear him suggest that Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes needed to help him? These two worked themselves to the bone, helping Viv, for Prime Minister, people and country. Even when, against all odds, Richardson became captain instead of Dessie Haynes, Haynes himself helped his captain as the senior pro. Obviously, Lara cannot get the same from Shiv Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle.
Secondly, the captain must be honest with everyone involved with the cricket. Lara is not dishonest, per se, but truly the best politician that the Caribbean has. He will tell the accepting public anything that they want to hear, since most of them would gobble it up without even listening. The trouble is, he knows this and uses it to his advantage.
For every tour that I have covered, Lara, as captain, has suggested, at the start, that the team will do well. By the time two of the Tests of the series had been completed, that changed to "we are going to be competitive," and finally to "we will do our best."
In my mind, there is nothing in place, but hope, where West Indies senior team cricket is concerned and the biggest purveyor of this tripe is the present captain. Prayer might move mountains but "Hope" does not win cricket games. Proper planning and tremendous execution does.
There is a saying that a captain and a team are as good as the players in that team. That may be so. Lara helps pick the team, therefore he must take the responsibilities of that team, not pass those responsibilities, with feeble excuses, on to players whom he might claim have not done their jobs. That is supposed to be the forte of a captain, to take the responsibilities and to make the players play out of their skins.
What purpose would Lara have continuing as captain? In my mind, there is none whatsoever. He is still an excellent batsman and should continue to play as that, a la Tendulkar. If he rebels at the thought and does not want to play at all, then he goes too. Lara is not God, but a cricket player that will one day end his playing days. It is that simple. There was cricket before Lara and there will be long after he goes anyway.
All Lara has to do is to state the obvious. He is not batting well; he has no form but he intends to fight back in time. He is good enough yet to do that. Sacrificing his fellow players for his convenience is trash and highly selfish. I am sure that even Lara knows this. I will also say this. Lara is still so good as a batsman that despite the efforts of the English, I expect him to make a hundred in one of the next two Test matches against the English.
On my third tour of Australia, Greg Chappelle, the Aussie captain and No. 3 batsman, made three ducks in a row from six innings against the West Indies. His other three innings may have totaled 10 runs. He never demoted himself. Has anyone seen Tendulkar demote himself when he has failed? Sport at the top is psychological warfare, not selfishness, cons and cowardice!!
Finally, the captaincy stakes. Like South Africa did with Graeme Smith, or New Zealand did with Stephen Fleming or even Australia did with Mark "Tubby" Taylor, the West Indies cricket fraternity must also bite the bullet and pick someone who can naturally make the team, may remain in it for some time, and allow him to learn on the job, as those three named had done. Smith is still only 22, while Fleming is now a bit older, after being made captain at the same age. After Allan Border, Taylor was also a great surprise.
For the West Indies, there are only two candidates that could be considered under those qualifications now; young and almost always will play; Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Both are sufficiently arrogant to be good enough, given the right surrounding, not that of other players, senior or otherwise, undermining their authority. The choice could be either, but that person must be allowed to run his ship, a la Clive Lloyd or Viv Richards, with the considerable help of whatever senior players remain. If the seniors do not want to co-operate, then they can be discarded too. The West Indies cricket team needs strong leadership on the field of play, not con men for leaders.