Brian Lara Back, But Not As captain..>

[Andy Mellon]

I understand your point Ninjaman, and in the past I would have agreed, but I found the tail end of his 400* at Antigua against England a bit selfish when there would have been a much better chance of the team winning had he declared earlier rather than going for personal glory. Maybe you have a different perspective on this one occasion, but it damaged his reputation as a captain in my eyes, and I would imagine others have similar thoughts

[Occasional Fan]

Count me in on that one, Andy. Said so at the time, I think, and still believe it.

[Kirsty Harris]

Me too, OF and Andy - and it was sooo dull. I fell asleep!!!

[Zainub]

It's not that I think declaring earlier would have brought West Indies victory, but it's still worth questioning all the same Lara's alleged selfishness on that occasion. I'm wondering if he's ever said anything in response to all these allegation (that he batted on for personal glory and neglected team's cause in the process) , ...I was having my exams last time that year, so I can't properly remember, but I think he might have said something on the lines of him deciding West Indies were going to bat on until they get a specific number of runs, 700 I think, but I can be wrong

[Kirsty Harris]

Yes, he did, Zainub - it was just one of many strange comments made by Lara in the course of that series and the one that followed in England in the summer! Why would ANY team NEED 700-odd runs? It makes no sense!!!

[Occasional Fan]

Quite. Poor captaincy - set the wrong target. Simply didn't leave long enough to get ten wickets. And when he realised that, far later than he should have done, in an attempt to muddy the waters he offered Michael Vaughan the draw about 40 minutes before the scheduled close.

[Kirsty Harris]

...Which provided an excellent example of why Lara is a great batsmen, but poor Captin! Can you imagine Vaughan doing the same in his situation? Not a chance!

[Zainub]

To be perfectly honest I don't know how he would have taken 20 wickets in that match, but its due criticism nevertheless, too was surprised he offered the draw on a plate, nearly every other captain in world cricket would I think would have pushed further for victory throughout the coarse of the match more then he did.

[Kirsty Harris]

I seem to recall England being 5 or 6 wickets down at the end of the game - another hour bowling might have made all the difference. Unlikely, but not impossible by any means.

[Zainub]

Nothing's impossible, not at least in cricket. And that's why Lara will always get criticised for his captaincy in that match. And it's difficult to argue otherwise.