I don't think there can be another job in sport quite like captaining West Indies. You are representing not just a country but a diverse region. So the captain has to understand not just the individual national characteristics within a side but often different ethnicities and religions, too.
Before he has even taken the team on to the field it is a complex business, requiring the skills of a diplomat. When I first came into the team in India during 1983 Clive Lloyd was still captain and, as well as being a fine player, he had immense qualities in that regard.
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.
Within the framework of a team the captain can sometimes find that, if things are not going well for someone from a particular country, then all the other fingers will point both at the player and him as captain. You are under pressure always, especially when things are not going very well. But, if you continue to focus on the job and do it well, it is not easy for others to criticise. You learn to do so and to treat people fairly, which leaves little room for criticism. When you are winning, such internal problems never seem to matter and I generally felt that within the team, whatever the situation, things were never quite as bad as some of the fans and the media often made out.
I am not certain that the current West Indies side feels the same way about Brian Lara as we did about Clive. 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.
I don't know how far that goes. But the idea that he should carry on because he is the best player and 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.
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.
I wonder, too, if the players understand the passions and depth of pride that drove the great 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. We wanted to play because years before there were those who did not have the chance to do so. It was an opportunity for us to come to the fore.
We should be making an investment in our youngsters, which might mean taking a few more licks yet, but we have to do that to improve. I think they would benefit if more of the great players of the past were encouraged to become involved not necessarily in coaching roles but simply rubbing shoulders with them. When I started I was able to look at all the wonderful players around me and draw inspiration. I wanted to emulate and it made me more determined to work hard and succeed because I knew it would be difficult to break into the side and as hard to stay there.
· Richie Richardson captained West Indies 24 times between 1992 and 1995. Interview by Mike Selvey.