“THIS is a dream come true. Since I was a young boy I have always dreamt of leading the West Indies team onto the Bourda ground and on Sunday, I would have my wish”. These were the sentiments expressed by Guyana and West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan in the VIP lounge of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport last evening when the West Indies and England teams arrived in Guyana.
Sarwan who has been vice-captain of the West Indies team will get his chance to lead the squad since regular captain Brian Lara has been ruled out of the first two one-dayers with a dislocated finger and has been advised by doctors to rest the injury for 10 days.
Sarwan said he was a privilege and an honour to lead the side, and he would give it his all in leading the West Indies team to victory.
When asked, like some other top batsmen, if the captaincy position will in any way hamper his batting, the right-handed Guyanese batsman said that more than anything it would improve his batting, since the captaincy will make him more responsible and he intends to use that responsibility in his batting.
Although not playing on Sunday, Lara came on the flight with his players but returned to Trinidad and Tobago last night.
Speaking at the airport, Lara said he has faith in Sarwan to lead the West Indies side. “I think that Sarwan has done a good job as vice-captain, in South Africa he was exceptional and his team spirit is high and he has a great relationship with the other players and I am confident that he will lead our side to victory.”
Lara himself, who brought the cricketing world to its feet last Monday in the fourth and final Test match when the reclaimed the world record and went on to become the first batsman to score 440 runs, said that he is disappointed that the injury ruled him out since he would have liked a chance to bat on the Bourda pitch.
Mark Hodgson the Media Liaison for the England side said that the team management is looking forward to stiff competition from the West Indies in the one-day series. Hodgson said that what has happened is that we have had new blood coming into the one-day attack, like fast bowlers James Kirtley, Anthony McGrath, left arm-spinner and hard-hitting batsman Ian Blackwell and right- handed batsman Andrew Strauss.
Today, the England team come up against a Guyana team led by West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul at the Everest Cricket Club ground in a warm-up ahead of Sunday’s first one-day international.