Lara to lead the Windies

IN a shocking twist, West Indies and Trinidad and Tobago dual world record holder Brian Lara is now being favoured to be the next West Indies captain and appointed for his second tenure from the forthcoming Australian Test series, the Newsday can exclusively reveal today.

 In a case of Deja Vu, former chairman of the West Indies selection panel, now president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Wes Hall, has found himself at loggerheads with other West Indies Cricket officials, over the selection of the next West Indies captain. Five years ago, Wes Hall’s selection team selected Brian Lara as the captain of the West Indies, but this was overturned by the WICB in favor of Courtney Walsh.  The West Indies captain ends his reign at the end of each tour, so currently there is no captain, until one is appointed. 

The last captain was Guyanese Carl Hooper who led the team at the World Cup in South Africa.  Hooper though has been vilified in the media, and in fact the stylish 36-years-old. Batsman suggested openly that he will have to re-think his future. Current chairman of the West Indies selection panel and a former skpper Sir Vivian Richards who was in South Africa for the World Cup, has asked Hooper not to resign but instead to continue to lead the team, based on his experience.  “However, there are a lot of people on the West Indies Board executive level, who are not in favour of Carl Hooper anymore, because they believe his captaincy is not good and he is over cautious and too negative in his thinking,” a close source at the WICB office in Antigua told this newspaper. “What has happened, is that during the World Cup people have identified the inflexibility of the West Indies, with his style of leadership. 

In addition there is a strong opinion, that Hooper cannot retain his place on the team, giving his batting of late and the fact, that there are a lot of youngsters around now.  “Brian Lara is seen as the only logical choice, and he has the support of a lot of people, because it is acclaimed that he has the best cricketing brain  among all the current players.” “It is only now a question of whether Brian Lara will accept the captaincy, but the fact that he has taken on the vice-captain role in the recent past, suggests he is ready to retake responsibility. “There is a belief that Brian Lara wants to end his career on a high, and he knows that he has only three to four years left in the game,” he added. “Additionally we all know how he likes a challenge, and what he did when he was last challenged by the Australians, so that he will give of his utmost not to lose to the Aussies.

 “The telling factor in all of this is that WICB president Wes Hall has a long history of being close to Brian Lara and he will want to push for him despite the antics of Sir Vivian Richards,” There is of course a serious concern that Carl Hooper would retire if he is not re-appointed.