Atherton's scathing views on Brian Lara and his legacy

[sledger]

I have to agree to what you have said. Lara is a great batsman but not as good a leader

yes indeed, he will no doubt be handed back his place batting in the side, but it would certainly seem that his time as captain has come to an end, if he is given captaincy back i think this would be a very unwise move indeed.

 

[Neil Pickup]

http://www.peirce.org/writings/p41.html

I have neither the time nor the inclination

Could you find the relevant bit?

 

[Mister Wright]

As good a batsman as Lara is, I've never rated as a figure particularly fit to lead the West Indies.. Assuming they have Lara back as a batsman, Id still give Shiv the captaincy..

I would agree with that.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

As good a batsman as Lara is, I've never rated as a figure particularly fit to lead the West Indies.. Assuming they have Lara back as a batsman, Id still give Shiv the captaincy..

Interestingly enough, I consider Chanderpaul weaker tactically. He certainly made some blatant errors in the first Test.

 

[Deja moo]

As good a batsman as Lara is, I've never rated as a figure particularly fit to lead the West Indies.. Assuming they have Lara back as a batsman, Id still give Shiv the captaincy..

I agree.

 

[Nate]

That is so poor.

Atherton... you suck.

 

[Nate]

I agree.

I also agree with that point, and it seems that Chanders WILL be given the captaincy for the next test.

 

[Jono]

Would this article have been made if WI were all out for 150 in the first innings, and consequently lost the first test?

I am delighted that Shiv and co. played brilliantly for WI. But really, one match is still one match. The effort is there, the performance of the players is very comforting, but to base everything he said on one match is stupid.

 

[Langeveldt]

Interestingly enough, I consider Chanderpaul weaker tactically. He certainly made some blatant errors in the first Test.

Sure, but there is time for Shiv to get used to things, he did get thrown in at the deep end, and came out with his reputation intact, as well as a double century.. What I did notice was a far happier and commited West Indies team.. Time will tell I guess

 

[honestbharani]

Why should the validity of a point depend upon who makes it?

It should always matter... You wouldn't exactly feel good if Osama Bin Laden were to lecture on the need for peace and then bomb Colorado the next day.... It is the same with the Indian politicians and that is why, even if the points they make is valid, they are never taken seriously.....simply because they don't mean it...

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Sure, but there is time for Shiv to get used to things, he did get thrown in at the deep end, and came out with his reputation intact, as well as a double century.. What I did notice was a far happier and commited West Indies team.. Time will tell I guess

You might say that, but then cast your mind back to the Champions Trophy. Lara had them playing at the same level if not higher at that point. All that Test shows for Chanderpaul as a captain AFAIC is that he can bat. We knew that already. He's been captaining Guyana for a while now and I've never been overly impressed.

 

[honestbharani]

Sure, but there is time for Shiv to get used to things, he did get thrown in at the deep end, and came out with his reputation intact, as well as a double century.. What I did notice was a far happier and commited West Indies team.. Time will tell I guess

I thought the WI team was very committed during the series against Australia in 2003 and again, in the champions trophy and in the VB series.... IDK about this....


First of all, all this talk about Lara conspiring against Walsh's and Hooper's captaincy is nothing more than speculation. Most people in the know have said that Lara was not happy when Walsh was made captain before him and didn't quite play his best at that time but that is the extent of the accusations. Walsh was NEVER a good captain and honestly, I would take Lara over Walsh as a captain any day. Walsh was stripped of captaincy only after repeated failures.... Not that Lara did much better, but Lara, at that time, seemed to get too carried away as a captain and made too many changes with the side to retain the 'surprise' element and to an extent, it was understandable, given that it has been his dream to captain the WI side for so many years.


However, he was also stripped of the captaincy and it was handed to Jimmy Adams, who did nothing better, although there was the odd false rising as always with the Windies... Then, Carl Hooper, who is the worst back-stabber I have seen in cricket, comes back and makes runs and gets back into the side (no questions asked about how he was conveniently away when he was needed, in the 99 WC, when a struggling Lara desperately needed his support) and is made captain. He does nothing, and I MEAN NOTHING, with the bat or the ball in the games that matter and after the 2003 WC, the West Indies think that with Lara in good form, he will make a better captain. And frankly, I think he has done exceedingly well as captain since then. Too bad his team does not have enough talent to do as well as he would want it to. And now, he is paying the price for standing by his players in a contract dispute......


Athers is juz a guy who has grudges against Brian and nothing more should be read into this article.

 

[howardj]

That is so poor.

Atherton... you suck.

Why is it poor though? Just because Lara is a genius and everyone loves watching him bat, and just because Athers was a Pommy plodder who got busted with dirt in his pocket, doesnt detract from what Atherton is saying.

The fact is Lara is a big-head who has an enormous sense of self-importance, who nobody - in West Indies ranks - has had the courage to stand up to. And does anybody really think the guy is a good captain, or a leader of men?

That is essentially what Atherton is saying. Lara should be judged on his behaviour, not how good he looks at the crease or how much pleasure he has given cricket fans down the years. People just love sucking up to the greats!

 

[Scallywag]

"Amidst speculation over possible industrial action by regional cricketers this weekend, champion West Indies batsman Brian Lara has told youngsters the game is more than about money."

So why are you not playing Brian.

 

[Neil Pickup]

It should always matter... You wouldn't exactly feel good if Osama Bin Laden were to lecture on the need for peace and then bomb Colorado the next day.... It is the same with the Indian politicians and that is why, even if the points they make is valid, they are never taken seriously.....simply because they don't mean it...

Doesn't make the need for peace any less relevant.

You're talking about the credibility of the person, not the validity of the point.

 

[Slats4ever]

i really liked that article... the rest of the players in the team must be feeling pretty hopeless when lara's rated above all them. now they can do they're own thing they'll surprise. good luck to em.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

"Amidst speculation over possible industrial action by regional cricketers this weekend, champion West Indies batsman Brian Lara has told youngsters the game is more than about money."

So why are you not playing Brian.

Your good friend Brian was not contracted at the time, so I see no reason why his decision not play the first Test would have been about money. Rather he missed out on match wages. Is it because of the money that so many supporters of cricket were pondering a boycott of the Test? More thought please.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

i really liked that article... the rest of the players in the team must be feeling pretty hopeless when lara's rated above all them. now they can do they're own thing they'll surprise. good luck to em.

You know that Lara has returned right?

 

[vic_orthdox]

surely the principle that the cricket board would go out and get a sponsorship from a rival company to a company personally sponsoring so many of the players individually, and then expecting them to drop their contracts, had as much, and probably more to do with it, than money itself.

 

[Anil]

It should always matter... You wouldn't exactly feel good if Osama Bin Laden were to lecture on the need for peace and then bomb Colorado the next day....

hey don't say things like that man...what do you have against colorado?