Richie: Lara failed as captain

ST JOHN’S: Former West Indies captain Richie Richardson believes Brian Lara has failed as a leader of men. “I am not certain that the current West Indies side feels the same way about Brian Lara as we did about Clive (Lloyd). “Without question Lara is a great batsman, one of the best ever, but does he have their devotion? A lot of people, including I believe some senior players, are saying that his captaincy, which seems uninspiring and at times incomprehensible, is part of the problem,” Richardson told a British newspaper.

Richardson, an Antiguan who captained the regional side in 24 Tests from 1992-1995, described the captaincy of the West Indies side as “complex business” that required the skills of a diplomat. “When I first came into the team in India during 1983, Lloyd was still captain and, as well as being a fine player, he had immense qualities in that regard,” he told the Guardian’s Mike Selvey. “Within the team he had total respect and the players would do anything for him. He was very straight with us, strict and serious at times, pulling no punches, but he could relax. All his players realised that they were playing for themselves, their country and their region but they also understood they were playing for Clive.”

The 44-year-old Richardson said the notion that Lara, with all his leadership shortcomings, should remain captain because there is no obvious alternative “cannot be right.” “When John Donne said that no man is an island, he may not have had the Caribbean in mind but, if we believe seriously that there is just the one person who is capable of captaining West Indies, then really we should not be playing the game,” Richardson declared. “The team clearly have problems internally because they are playing well below their potential. There is a lot of talent in the ranks but it is not coming together. Were I in charge, I would encourage them to be positive, to work hard and to put aside the negative things.

“At the moment they are in disarray. They have no confidence, no belief and Brian, or whoever is captain, has to find a way of instilling that. You might be limited in your abilities but you can still compete if you understand your limitations,” he added. Richardson, who once accused Lara of undermining his captaincy during the 1995 tour of England, said it was sad that the current players did not quite understand the passions and depth of pride that drove the great West Indian sides of the ’70s and the ’80s.

“It was a time when black people were striving to make an impact in the world and we felt we had a lot to prove not just as cricketers but as people. As players in a successful side we had something that gave the region an identity for we alone represented that region... Although I was a professional, the money was not my priority. We all played for the sake of the game, of course, but we also had huge pride in ourselves and our region,” Richardson added.