Cricket: Lara Expects Team to Rally Round Sarwan

Brian Lara, for so long an irresistible cocktail of enfant terrible and compelling genius, has assumed the role of supportive elder statesman by declaring West Indies can improve on the 4-0 drubbing they received on their previous tour of England three years ago, when he was leading the side.

"I sense that we can do a lot better," said the former West Indies captain, who will be at Lord's to cheer on the team he called his own as recently as last month. "My feeling is that there is going to be somebody that has to rise to the top. I expect the team to raise a little bit, rally around the new captain, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and perform well."

Lara said his retirement from international cricket was hastened by the team's dreadful showing at their own World Cup, the upshot of which is that West Indies must face England for the first time in 31 Tests stretching back 16 years without his rapier-like services. Since he averaged 10 more against England than he did against everyone else (62 to 52) and made both his world-record scores of 375 and 400 not out against them, the hole will take some filling.

But Lara, who was at Lord's to attend an exhibition by the Marylebone Cricket Club in honour of his never less-than-engrossing career, said his absence was not necessarily a bad thing. "Maybe there was a disparity between how my achievements and those of the rest of the guys were looked upon," he said. "Maybe that was the problem. You don't need a group of superstars. You need a team that's playing with each other and working together.

"Ramnaresh has a tough task ahead but we've got to move on. It doesn't matter how many Test runs I made. After 1995 the fact is we just went downhill. If over the next four Test matches we can get some partnerships going and get 400 runs on the board, we have a chance. "

Lara, who at the age of 38 said he has not ruled out a final fling in county cricket, insisted the gradual decline in the West Indian game - they are ranked ahead of only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the International Cricket Council ratings - was not the fault of the players.

"The problem lies with the infrastructure," he said. "We have a great legacy but it's been muddied by a lot of things that have happened. If we can get those things right, then in five or 10 years' time we're going to be producing a team that is capable of being competitive and successful against the best. We've got good exciting players and I believe West Indies has the best Under-15 and Under-19 talent."

Lara was full of praise for Duncan Fletcher but said the former England coach would be "very frustrated with the present situation" in West Indian cricket. "He did a great job for England. Everyone concentrates on the Ashes but to take England to South Africa and win, and to West Indies and threaten the whitewash, and then to whitewash us in England; all of these things are figures no one really talks about. Yes, they lost the Ashes. But Fletcher did well for England and it would be great if he could produce that for West Indies."

Guide to tourists


Ramnaresh Sarwan, captain


Age 26 Tests 65


Right-hand batsman

Has a useful leg-break and was the only bowler among 23 examined in 2004 whose action was found not to transgress the laws of cricket during an ICC investigation into bowling actions.

Chris Gayle


Age 27 Tests 64


Left-hand opening batsman

Became the first man in Test history to hit six consecutive fours in an over, with Matthew Hoggard on the receiving end during the Oval Test in 2004. Sarwan repeated the feat against India last year.

Daren Ganga, vice-captain


Age 28 Tests 41


Right-hand opening batsman

Possibly best known for slagging off Brian Lara in what he thought was an off-the-record chat. The journalist thought otherwise. Still, it didn't stop him getting the vice-captaincy.

Devon Smith


Age 25 Tests 16


Left-hand batsman

Enjoys playing against England. Passed fifty in six successive innings against England Under-19s, and also hit a hundred - his only one in Tests - against England in Jamaica in 2004.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul


Age 32 Tests 101


Left-hand batsman

Resembles a crab at the crease, but hit 128 and 97, both not out, when West Indies played at Lord's in 2004. Once shot a Guyanese policeman in the hand because he thought he was a mugger.

Runako Morton


Age 28 Tests 6


Right-hand batsman

Told officials his grandmother had died because he didn't want to play in the 2002 Champions Trophy. She hadn't. Proud possessor of a 31-ball duck, the slowest in any one-day international.

Denesh Ramdin


Age 22 Tests 15


Wicketkeeper

West Indies are no longer awash with fast bowlers, but Ramdin switched to wicketkeeping after deciding he had a better future there. Maybe he's right as he is the only keeper on this tour.

Dwayne Bravo


Age 23 Tests 19


All-rounder

Type his name into YouTube and you'll find footage of Bravo being sledged by Andrew Flintoff in 2004. "This game has a funny way of biting you on the arse," advises Fred.

Corey Collymore


Age 29 Tests 26


Seam bowler

A masterfully mean seamer in the right conditions, he doesn't give much away across the poker table either, where team-mates have christened him "Screwface".

Jerome Taylor


Age 22 Tests 10


Fast bowler

Became the first West Indian to take a hat-trick in a one-day international, in the opening game of last year's Champions Trophy in India against Australia.

Daren Powell


Age 29 Tests 19


Fast bowler

A Test average of under six is surprising given that he began life batting at No3. Also bowled off-breaks but switched to fast bowling when he was confronted with a concrete pitch at school.

Fidel Edwards


Age 25 Tests 25


Fast bowler

Made his Test debut after one first-class game when Brian Lara spotted him in nets. Maybe it is in his genes as he is the half-brother of the former West Indies seam bowler Pedro Collins.