Lara hints he may give up captaincy

LONDON: West Indies captain Brian Lara hinted he might step down after the ICC Champions Trophy following his side’s 10-wicket defeat by England at The Oval yesterday, which completed a 4-0 Test cricket series whitewash. The one-day tournament takes place in England starting on September ten and, with the squads already announced, there was little chance for a change of captain. “I am going to be here as captain in the ICC tournament but let’s take it from there,” he told reporters at the south London ground. “We don’t have a Test match until April. We have got to prepare a team and win this tournament and I think it is a situation we could reassess then.”

However, the 35-year-old said he would still play Tests for West Indies. He was given a rousing reception when he was out for 15 before lunch, the Oval crowd recognising this would almost certainly be his last Test in England with West Indies not returning until 2010. “It is fair to say it could be my last (Test in England) but I am going to carry on and keep fighting,” he said. Coach Gus Logie sounded less sure about his role with the team, having been appointed temporarily to the job. “Obviously changes will have to be made there is no doubt about that,” Logie said. “Whatever my fate is I will accept it.” Despite being completed outplayed by England not just in this 4-0 drubbing but in the 3-0 defeat in the Caribbean earlier this year, Lara defended his youthful side.

“We are asking some pretty young guys to do a big man’s job. I am proud of a lot of them,” he said. “This young team is a team people should not be overly critical of. It is a team that is going to improve.” However, he suggested their hopes depended on an improved cricket infrastructure in the Caribbean. “With the situation back home if we can get a lot more help in all departments, I am almost sure these guys are going to be around for a long time.” Ultimately he pinpointed the poor fielding in the series as the one area where improvement had to made fast. “We were not very smart in the field and dropped important catches,” he said.