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Captain Lara kept waiting for the nod

This article is more than 19 years old

Brian Lara was adamant. "Can we stick to this Test match please? I'm here to do a job for the next two weeks, which is Test cricket - two Test matches. That is my main focus. What happens after that is going to come in due course."

The West Indies captain had been asked why his three fellow selectors had announced a squad for the Champions Trophy next month but not named a captain. The simple answer would have been that the board was meeting later to ratify the selectors' recommendation, as required by its constitution. And when, eight hours later, the board duly named Lara, it came as no surprise.

After all, only a month ago he led his side to the NatWest Series final after beating England twice and knocking them out of their own competition. Nor would it have made sense for the board to undermine their captain halfway through a Test series when, theoretically at least, they still have a chance of levelling matters with wins here, starting today, and next week at The Oval, where Lara will lead the side out for the 39th time.

However, since Sir Viv Richards, the former chairman of selectors, laid into Lara before, during and after the Edgbaston Test, his captaincy has been a major topic of conversation, with the betting being that he will lose control sooner rather than later, and certainly before the team go to Australia in December.

At Derby last week the team manager Tony Howard issued an unheralded statement supporting his captain. "Although the results in the Test series thus far have not been satisfactory," he said, "this has not diminished the commitment and support that the team has expressed in the captain and in his ability to bring out the best in them.

"Brian remains committed as ever to the endeavour of raising the standard and quality of West Indies cricket and is as disappointed as our many fans in the end result achieved in the Test series thus far."

Unfortunately for Howard he chose to end by saying that the team "is looking forward to the last tour match [against Derby] and the final two Test matches, fully focused on achieving better results".

The statement was issued before play on the first day. Shortly after lunch the West Indians were bowled out by a below-strength attack in just over 40 overs with one or two batsmen ending their chances of Test places and the coach Gus Logie said to be close to tears.

Then this week Lara's vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan was wheeled out to support his leader. "Of course you have to feel for Brian," he said. "I don't think this would be easy for any captain. With the position that West Indies cricket is in, it is not fair that blame lands on him; it has a lot to do with past years and the structure of cricket in the Caribbean, preparation and so forth.

"We will continue to support him. We have to try and support each other as much as possible, and at difficult times someone needs to speak up; as a team you need to help other individuals along."

Lara himself was keen to talk about this subject yesterday. "Individual performances are not what we are looking for," he said. "We are trying to get a team performance together - guys bowling in tandem, partnerships when the batters go out there, and especially in the field. We have to support the bowlers. That is the most important part of any team."

However, the fact remains that Lara must somehow motivate a young, losing side which has allowed the opposition to dominate from the start in both Test matches. At the end of the first day at Lord's England were 371 for two and at Edgbaston only marginally worse at 313 for five.

If they fail, and lose a third successive series to England for the first time, the odds will be heavily against Lara leading them out a 40th time.

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