LONDON, England (CMC) - Besieged by more questions about his form, his captaincy and the prospect of West Indies suffering a series whitewash against England, Brian Lara lashed out at the growing army of critics in defence of himself and his team as they prepare for the fourth and final cricket Test, starting today at The Oval.
Just two days after a seven-wicket loss in the third Test in Manchester left his team facing the prospect of a first ever 4-0 mauling by the Englishmen, a sombre West Indies captain was in no mood to entertain another grilling from journalists at the pre-match news conference.
A combination of his tactics and the bowlers’ inexperience has been blamed for the defeat on the last day at Old Trafford, but Lara offered a different perspective to the challenge he has faced as captain of a very young crop of fast bowlers.
“Sometimes these guys put in so much effort to see if they can get the best out of themselves that sometimes they hurt themselves,” Lara told reporters.
“So I’ve got no great criticism of them. I just hope they keep learning. We see a lot of guys playing cricket now. And 10, 15, 20 years ago, at that age, they weren’t playing.
“Viv Richards, Michael Holding and Lance Gibbs started in their mid-20s. I’ve got guys playing at 20, 21, and injury-prone already. If it’s not shin-splints, it’s stress fracture of the back.”
Lara’s reference to the former West Indies Test greats was a thinly veiled retort at growing condemnation of his leadership by former players working in the broadcast media during this tour.
At the post-match ceremony in Manchester on Monday, Lara thanked presenter Dermot Reeve for his recognition of the team’s greater spirit in the third Test, adding that he wished he could hear the same from “ex-West Indies players”.
Yet whether or not the widespread criticism of him and the team is justified, it does not alter the fact that for the second time in less than four months, West Indies are facing the prospect of a series sweep at the hands of an England side that had to wait 27 years before regaining the Wisden Trophy.
Not surprisingly, more speculation about his future in the captaincy only worsened his mood yesterday.
“I keep hearing this thing about the captaincy and not carrying on,” Lara said.
“I am a servant to West Indies cricket. I am going to play as long as I am an asset to West Indies cricket, not a liability.”
What may be an immediate liability for the Caribbean side is using the specialist spinner in this final Test.
Omari Banks took three wickets for 351 runs in the first two matches, while Dave Mohammed was a huge disappointment at Old Trafford, going wicketless in both innings and failing to make any impact on a wearing pitch on the last day.
In this context, it seems likely that Dwayne Smith will be recalled, more in the hope that he can offer some greater bowling depth with his medium-pace, rather than any expectation that his erratic and irresponsible batting so far in England will improve markedly.
Lara’s recent struggles with the bat against Andrew Flintoff have also been the focus of attention, although the West Indies captain pleaded that too much was being made of the pattern of dismissals.
“I’ve been out three times in four innings by (Glenn) McGrath, (Shane) Warne, by whoever else, so Flintoff has been getting me out … great for him,” was his brusque reply.
“I’ve got my game. I’ve been playing (at Test level) for almost 15 years. I know exactly what it takes. Midway through the series I was being asked the same question. ‘Did Ashley Giles get the better of you, Brian?’ Now it’s a different story … come on guys.”
Lara’s mood was not helped prior to facing the media when he was hit on the left shoulder by a short ball from Corey Collymore in the nets. He received treatment immediately from physiotherapist Andrew Simpson and resumed batting a few minutes later.
The sense of gloom and doom surrounding the West Indies captain and his team contrasts sharply with England’s serene build-up to what they expect will be not only a series whitewash, but a clean sweep of all seven Tests in the English summer and an already impressive record extended to ten wins in 11 Tests.
With Graham Thorpe, the man-of-the-match in Manchester, ruled out with a broken finger, Ian Bell is set to make his Test debut. The 22-year-old Warwickshire batsman has enjoyed a prolific domestic season, amassing 1 455 runs in 14 first-class matches, including five hundreds and a 96 in the last six matches for his county.
England captain Michael Vaughan, while obviously seeing the prospect of a 4-0 series win as a significant motivating factor, is more encouraged by the manner in which Andrew Strauss and Robert Key have filled significant gaps in their batting line-up. He is hopeful that Bell can do the same.
If the young man does rise to the challenge, it will underline England’s strength in depth - at least in batting - in that they would have dominated West Indies without Thorpe, the retired Nasser Hussain and the injured Mark Butcher.
The trio comprised the core of England’s middle-order when England triumphed 3-0 in the Caribbean earlier this year. It is difficult to imagine West Indies making a similarly seamless transition if deprived of the services of Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
A brown pitch at The Oval looked full of runs under baking sunshine yesterday. The weather forecasters, however, are predicting showers throughout the first two days that, incidentally, have been completely sold out.
The elements did not come to West Indies’ aid on Monday, and whatever the conditions, their only hope of avoiding further humiliation is by dint of their own efforts.
Teams:
ENGLAND (probable): Michael Vaughan (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Robert Key, Ian Bell, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones, Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, James Anderson.
WEST INDIES (probable): Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Sylvester