Max bats for Lara

PRESIDENT George Maxwell Richards has written to West Indies cricket captain Brian Charles Lara assuring the maestro batsman that the Caribbean has the utmost confidence in him, although the West Indies are down 0-2 in the current Test series in England. In a letter sent to Lara yesterday, the President stated: “I have been following, with great interest, the media reports concerning the series that is underway in England. The various opinions expressed have moved me to let you know that there are many in this country, including myself and indeed the whole of the Caribbean, who have the utmost confidence in your leadership of the West Indies team.

“It is clear to us that you are doing all that you possibly can with the current players whose potential is evident and who must be encouraged to make optimum use of their talents and abilities. “Yours is not an easy task, nor is it one to be envied. I am sanguine however, that you possess the focus, the sense of responsibility and the surpassing commitment to West Indian cohesiveness and history that must fuel your tenacity. You are the man in the arena and if you persevere, this will enable you to lead West Indies cricket back to a place of pre-eminence in the world. “I ask you please to accept my own very best wishes and that of my family for you and for the rest of the team,” Richards asked. Since the Windies lost the second Test match to England at Edgbaston, a number of writers and commentators have suggested that Lara should resign the captaincy of the team.