WI need Brian Lara

THE EDITOR: In his article entitled “God save the Windies,” published in the Sunday Sun of April 4 2004, Tony Cozier articulated a chilling reality when, in reflecting on recent declines in West Indies team performance, he stated, “The fear is that the decline is terminal, that the tentacles of defeatism are as stifling as a love vine and that the West Indies are becoming an irrelevancy at the highest level of the game, consigned with Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, as also-rans to powerhouses Australia and the more credible test teams.” There is no doubt that West Indies cricket is in very deep crisis.

In another article, captioned “Education key to WI problem,” which appeared in the same publication, Prof Hilary Beckles made an impassioned defense of Brian Lara, when in enunciating the first premise of a solution, he stated, “The first is that Brian Lara is key to any positive movement that is possible in the next five years in any strategic plan.” I believe that it is necessary to separate Brian Lara the individual cricketer from Brian Lara the leader of men and examine his record in each role objectively and dispassionately. His record as a batsman is among the best in West Indies cricket history, but the win:loss record of the team under his, together with individual inconsistency and evidence of worrying mental and technical fallibilities in the team raise serious questions about Lara’a leadership abilities.

The logical inference is that Lara has difficulty in inspiring players under his leadership. If Dr Beckes is stating that Brian Lara the player is critical to the immediate future of West Indies cricket, I am in full agreement with him. If, however, he is advocating Lara’s retention as team captain for the next five years, I must disagree. The biggest problem faced by our team is its lack of experience. The superior experience of the Australians, Indians, English and South Africans in First Class, Test, One Day International and List A matches shows up almost every time our team is in a tight competitive situation. If we are to avoid the impending “melt-down” which Tony Cozier thinks is very possible, we need to take urgent action to bolster the team with more experience.

This situation requires radical action on the part of the WICB. The only active players with the kind of experience that we require are Carl Hooper and Sherwin Campbell. Both the WICB and the selectors need to change their policy and draft these gentlemen back into the team in time for our summer tour of England. This will require a policy decision on the part of the WICB to enable Hooper to be selected, since he did not represent Guyana in the recently concluded first class season.

I go further to say that Hooper should be reinstated to the Test captaincy, while Lara should retain the One Day International captaincy. We cannot afford to have Hooper and Campbell languishing on the outside of International cricket, while the team flounders for their experience and abilities. This is potentially the least destructive option that the WICB has at its disposal. Hooper has the stature and the leadership ability to knit this team into a competitive unit and together, Campbell and he will add much needed experience.

SIMON ANGOY
Christ Church
Barbados