Lara to quit if WI fail to win

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Brian Lara vowed to step down as West Indies captain if his team does not beat Bangladesh in the second and final Test starting at Sabina Park, today. “If we don’t win then I don’t think I’m going to lead the team to England,” the 35-year-old Lara told reporters at a pre-match news conference yesterday. “If we don’t beat Bangladesh in five good days of cricket in Jamaica, I think we need another leader.” The West Indies and Bangladesh battled to a draw in the opening encounter in St Lucia last week on a pitch lacking bounce and pace. Lara said the pitch at Sabina Park should be better suited to his team.

“If we do not beat Bangladesh, who have not won a Test match and have now drawn three Test matches ... I think we do need to try someone else.” Lara is in his second stint as skipper of the Caribbean side. He has two wins, nine losses and six draws in 17 Tests since taking over again a year ago against the touring Australians. His overall record, including his first captaincy from 1998 to 2000, is 9-19-7 in 35 matches.Lara said he is confident that the Sabina Park surface would supply more encouragement for his fast bowlers, and get him the win he demands. The West Indies’ last Test at the venue was embarrassing for the home side as the team slumped to a Test-low 47 all out against England on their way to a nine-wicket defeat last March.

Then, the surface was fast and bouncy and the England and West Indies pacers dominated the Test match. Lara, though, warned that it wasn’t a case of his young bowlers just turning up to get the desired result. “I hope what they don’t do is think because it’s quick and bouncy, that we need to intimidate the Bangladeshi batsmen,” Lara said. “We are going to get the bounce and the pace out of it. We just need to bowl the right line and length.” Lara said that his four-pronged pace attack of Fidel Edwards, Tino Best, Pedro Collins and Jermaine Lawson would not be pushed during yesterday afternoon’s final net session. “We had five hard days in St Lucia, the fast bowlers especially,” Lara added. “I’d really like them to take it easy on their legs.” The West Indies brought in off-spinning allrounder Omari Banks into their squad to give them more options. Bangladesh is set to field an unchanged eleven and reward their players for their impressive performances in the opening drawn match.

Teams: WEST INDIES (from):
Brian Lara (capt), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Ridley Jacobs, Tino Best, Pedro Collins, Jermaine Lawson, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Omari Banks.
BANGLADESH (from):
Habibul Bashar (capt), Hannan Sarkar, Javed Omar, Rajin Saleh, Mohammad Ashraful, Faisal Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahman, Khaled Mashud, Mohammad Rafique, Tapash Baisya, Tareq Aziz, Alamgir Kabir, Manjural Islam Rana, Enamul Haque Junior, Alok Kapali. (AP)