Brian Lara (Captain), Sarwan (deputy)

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Lara's been reinstated and rather sensibly, Sarwan has been instated.

This is a good move for West Indies cricket. Lara is a more attacking captain than Hooper (although that's not very hard to do) and this arrangement allows Sarwan to be moulded for his no doubt prolific career as Windies captain.

 

[Rik]

Lara as captain? That's almost as bad as bringing back Hooper from retirement to be skipper.

What's going to happen to Hooper?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Why is it bad? Who else would be captain? Lara has done some of his best batting as captain of the team. Basically, you have to work with what you have and, of the pool of players West Indies have right now, Lara is certainly the most qualified......bar Vasbert Drakes.

 

[Rik]

Why is it bad? Who else would be captain? Lara has done some of his best batting as captain of the team. Basically, you have to work with what you have and, of the pool of players West Indies have right now, Lara is certainly the most qualified......bar Vasbert Drakes.

No, Shiv Chanderpaul is. Lara, like Tendulkar, is a great player, but great players do not allways make great captains. Brian Lara has allways been an individualist in a rather individual team, he is capable of brilliant innings but they do not allways help the team, I mean look at Steve Waugh, he will grind out a century if need be, do anything to stop his team loosing. Can you see Lara batting like that? I can't, he's a thrilling player yes and a great but not a captain. Also they were very sure he wasn't good enough as captain when they sacked him before, so why go back and make the same mistake? Shiv Chanderpaul is a gritty player determined to stick it out for his team, and he's not too old so I think he would be perfect.

 

[aussie_beater]

Lara's been reinstated and rather sensibly, Sarwan has been instated.

This is a good move for West Indies cricket. Lara is a more attacking captain than Hooper (although that's not very hard to do) and this arrangement allows Sarwan to be moulded for his no doubt prolific career as Windies captain.

This feels like turning back the clock and not moving forward.Lara didn't do too well as captain the last time around and so I am not sure what has changed since then to suggest that he would do better this time around.

 

[Tim]

I agree, can't the West Indies board remember what happened to Lara last time he was captain? his batting went downhill & The West Indies went on the decline.

Maybe he'll do better, but its an interesting decision to say the least.

 

[full_length]

Lara's batting was not affected by captaincy. He was still playing just as well if I remember right. I think Lara will make a good captain where it comes to strategy.

To me the only negative factors in Lara captaining WI again are:
1) he quit the first time round, albeit after 3 or so years.
2) he suggested that the earlier WI teams were not willing to try to win. I think he intended that to be a compliment to the current team. But part of his job was to instill a desire in his team to win.
Basically, I have doubts about his ability to motivate his players.

I am in favour of this move. Good positive decision by WICB. Hopefully they'll also back Lara to the hilt now.

Incidentally, wasn't he the captain when Australia toured WI last time round? It is possible that WICB had the Australia tour in mind when they made this choice.

Re. Steve Waugh being able to churn out gritty innings and save matches, can he do what Lara did the last time Aus toured WI, three tests in a row?

 

[full_length]

I am not sure what has changed since then to suggest that he would do better this time around.

AB, I think the WI team has changed a lot since the NZ series after which Lara gave up.
Their strength then was:
1)Lara
2)Walsh and Ambrose
Period.

Now they've got a terrific batting lineup. It might falter a bit initially due to inexperience but they have a chance to play on home turf first up..
Further, the batsmen seem to be the kind you persist with- Sarwan, Samuels, Gayle..
Their bowling is weak though.

I think they are in a better position to save matches and win the odd one nowadays. When they were demolished by SA and NZ, they looked like no hopers! WI are a lot better now.

 

[Rik]

I agree, can't the West Indies board remember what happened to Lara last time he was captain? his batting went downhill & The West Indies went on the decline.

Maybe he'll do better, but its an interesting decision to say the least.

No his batting was ok, it improved sometimes like against Australia. But the problem was he was very poor with man management and the team went to pot.

 

[Rik]

Lara's batting was not affected by captaincy. He was still playing just as well if I remember right. I think Lara will make a good captain where it comes to strategy.

To me the only negative factors in Lara captaining WI again are:
1) he quit the first time round, albeit after 3 or so years.
2) he suggested that the earlier WI teams were not willing to try to win. I think he intended that to be a compliment to the current team. But part of his job was to instill a desire in his team to win.
Basically, I have doubts about his ability to motivate his players.

I am in favour of this move. Good positive decision by WICB. Hopefully they'll also back Lara to the hilt now.

Incidentally, wasn't he the captain when Australia toured WI last time round? It is possible that WICB had the Australia tour in mind when they made this choice.

Re. Steve Waugh being able to churn out gritty innings and save matches, can he do what Lara did the last time Aus toured WI, three tests in a row?

Re Steve Waugh, I doubt Lara on current form would come close to producing those innings, the problem the WIndies have is only Chanderpaul is a responsible batsmen, most of the players are entertaining but do you think they will dig in and save a Test? I don't, it's not their way.

I think this is a bad move as last time he tried the team suffered because he is just not a captain, look what happened when he captained Warwickshire, they didn't do well then either. He relies more on leading by example and his man management skills are not the best. I think WIndies cricket might be close to another slump, Lara is not the right man.

 

[Tim]

So does this mean that Carl Hooper has retired?
I thought even though the West Indies were still poor at times, under Hooper they have improved remarkably from the last time I saw them here in NZ in 1999.

 

[Anil]

I don't think the West Indians had too many options. It was either Lara or Chanderpaul. Does anyone know anything about Chanderpaul's captaincy skills? I know he has patience, determination and stubbornness, but regarding tactical acumen and ability to inspire his teammates, where does he stand? If he is any good, he should have been given a shot before Lara who did a very ordinary job the first time around. Sarwan as deputy is a sound move as he is a looong-term prospect and an ideal future captain.

 

[Top_Cat]

I'm going to join the nay-sayers on this one. There's no doubt the captaincy doesn't affect his batting much but the TEAM is the important factor here and under him, regardess of the fact he did well, the team certainly did not.

I would have made Marlon Samuels the captain if they were going for youth. If not, give it to Ridley Jacobs. He could teach them something about grit.

 

[full_length]

Marlon Samuels? That's a big call.

Yeah the team did not do well. But he didnt have much of a team first time round.
I thought that amongst the WI team members, Lara would be the best bet. Ridley Jacobs is one good alternative though.

 

[aussie_beater]

Lara's general attitude doesn't bode well for team building.How many times did he have problems just because of that....his own career has suffered because of it.

But now that he has been nominated the captain, I wish he does well and hopefully he has learnt from his previous mistakes and will do a better job this time.Actually if he can thwart the Aussies, I think he would have done a tremendous job.

 

[R_Powell_fan]

Rik- you are saying that Steven Waugh will grind out centuries when his team are in trouble and Lara more of an indivigual. Well since Lara came back from his self-imposed assylum he has changed.....just look at the innings... I don't remember them all but his 92* against SA right when he came back he batted on and stood tall when the youngsters in the team faltered, he batted way out of character and didn't really attack the SA bowlers, look at his 111* against Bangladesh in the ICC Champions trophy, the guy is really commited to the team and younger players. Although he didn't do a very good job of it first up which was I think due to some self-imposed pressure, hope he does not succumb to that this time and does well.
I don't think Ridley Jacobs is not really a good captain technically.

Rik- before you go on harping, check the FACTS, the STATS which tell you the decision to bring Hooper back from retirement was not a bad one. Okay he may have a very low win rate percentage but, he has given the youngsters so much confidence, he has been a refreshing sight, before the Indian test series he averaged just under 50 in batting as captain in tests. He really was a great sight when he first came back....unfortunately his old knees have been telling him to hang up his boots, the man was a classic underachiever up until he came back when he finally showed that he is class.... He has said that he doesn't want to go on and take a youngster's place if he isn't retained as captain. So farewell Hooper and thanks...

 

[Rik]

I'm going to join the nay-sayers on this one. There's no doubt the captaincy doesn't affect his batting much but the TEAM is the important factor here and under him, regardess of the fact he did well, the team certainly did not.

I would have made Marlon Samuels the captain if they were going for youth. If not, give it to Ridley Jacobs. He could teach them something about grit.

That's why I think Chanderpaul would have been a good choice, he's a gritty player. Look at the captains around the world...Nasser Hussain - Gritty Player, Steve Waugh - Gritty Player, hell even Ganguly has turned himself into a gritty Test Batsman. You don't need flair, you need grit to get the runs when the pressure is on or the wickets, this is why I think Lara will be a failure again, he has the ability but he would rather use it on blasting a 60 ball 100 rather than playing 2 days for 150, it would bore him. And as TC said, it was the team that suffered last time.

 

[marc71178]

That's why I think Chanderpaul would have been a good choice, he's a gritty player. Look at the captains around the world...Nasser Hussain - Gritty Player, Steve Waugh - Gritty Player, hell even Ganguly has turned himself into a gritty Test Batsman. You don't need flair, you need grit to get the runs when the pressure is on or the wickets, this is why I think Lara will be a failure again, he has the ability but he would rather use it on blasting a 60 ball 100 rather than playing 2 days for 150, it would bore him. And as TC said, it was the team that suffered last time.

Crikey Rik, are you praising those players that don't play Test cricket at breakneck speed?

 

[Rik]

Crikey Rik, are you praising those players that don't play Test cricket at breakneck speed?

You need someone like that as captain, doesn't make great watching though.

 

[marc71178]

You need someone like that as captain, doesn't make great watching though.

You need at least one batsman like that full stop.