Win, lose or draw at Sabina, West Indies captain Brian Lara would be best serving himself and the team by now handing over the reins to vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan.
That's the suggestion from veteran writer/broadcaster Tony Cozier, who believes the time is perfect for Sarwan to assume the captaincy for the upcoming tour of England.
In his Sunday column in the Barbados Nation, Cozier said there havde been various interpretations of Lara’s threat -- or promise -- to step down if the West Indies fail to beat Bangladesh but, "when a victory over Bangladesh is set by a captain to determine whether he continues or not, it is time for him to take his leave."
"The outcome of this match is not going to change the situation any or assuage Lara’s disenchantment. He has had 18 Tests since his appointment for his second term at the helm and, while he has confirmed himself as among the greatest batsmen of all time, his record is no better than the first that prompted his resignation in 2000 after what he termed two years of “modest success and devastating failure”." Cozier wrote.
While conceding that the West Indies captaincy has been a "poisoned chalice" that troubled Richie Richardson, Courtney Walsh, Jimmy Adams, Carl Hooper and Lara himself over the past eight years, Cozier thinks the leadership position would help sort out the "lingering immaturity" in Sarwan's cricket .
"Although he has been a Test cricketer for four years, Sarwan won’t be 24 until later this month and the manner of his dismissals, not least the Bangladeshi set-up for the hook in St Lucia, indicates a lingering immaturity…The forthcoming tour of England would immediately present him with a severe test but he has been identified as a future captain and the future is now," Cozier wrote.
"Time and again, such challenges have brought the best out of the youngest of candidates – Graeme Smith was 21 when he led South Africa to England last year – and it may just be the responsibility Sarwan needs at this stage of his career, once given the assertive support of board, management and senior players, not least Lara himself."
"Neither Sarwan nor the selectors should shirk the task," he argued.
He said the happenings during the two-Test series against Bangladesh has "highlighted divisions in selection and weaknesses in leadership and team composition" that explains the horrendous West Indies record of recent times.
"By his various comments during the week, if not his continuing mystifying tactics, Brian Lara has revealed a disaffection with fellow selectors, with groundsmen and with team performance that inevitably has permeated through to his players and left them as disturbed as he is."