DERBY, England, CMC - West Indies team manager Tony Howard, too, has come to the defence of West Indies captain Brian Lara, in particular, and his team-mates following heavy defeats in the first two Tests against England.
West Indies lost the opening Test at Lord’s by 210 runs and that was followed by a 256-run defeat inside four days in the second Test at Birmingham last Sunday.
Former players, the media, and West Indian have roundly criticised Lara for his lack of leadership qualities, with some calling for him to step down, and the team upbraided for its lack of purpose.
“Captain Lara has continually stressed his desire to see individuals improve their performances match-by-match,” remarked Howard in a media statement issued through Imran Khan, the team’s media liaison.
He added: “Although the result in the Test series thus far have not been satisfactory, this has not diminished the commitment and support that the team has expressed in the captain and in his ability to bring out the best in them.
“Brian remains committed as ever to the endeavour of raising the standard and quality of West Indies cricket and is as disappointed as our many fans in the end result achieved in the Test Series thus far.”
West Indies’ loss at Edgbaston was their 12th since Lara was re-appointed captain last year ahead of the home series against Australia and leaves the visitors again facing the prospect of a humiliating overseas series whitewash should England win the last two Tests at Manchester and The Oval.
“There have been some very encouraging individual performances so far and the team is looking forward to the last tour match (that started yesterday against Derbyshire) and the final two Test matches, fully focused on achieving better results,” Howard said.
Howard, a former Barbados and West Indies off-spin bowler, noted that coming out of a difficult series against England in the Caribbean, the team had arrived in England as underdogs.
“This team, under the captaincy of Brian Lara, committed itself to improved performances during the English summer,” he said.
“One would have been thought crazy to forecast that this team would have reached the finals of the limited-overs series, but they did having knocked England out by beating them twice along the way.”