A captain in waiting?

Dwayne Bravo simply exudes a sense of dynamism. His presence in the field is unmistakable. And it's not only because of his superior fielding skills. He brings to the table the zip, drive and vigour. He is the pulse of the place. He is the livewire of the party. His knack for making things happen is well documented. But what is not well known is his emerging leadership qualities.

Ever so often during the one-day international series, Bravo would go up to Brian Lara and offer a suggestion or an observation. It is something rarely seen by someone who is only 22 years of age, only in international cricket for two years, and only with the experience of 12 Tests and 43 one-day internationals.

As premature as it sounds, there is evidence that Bravo could some day emerge as a West Indies captain. It is something he has thought about, but it is not on the list of what he wants to achieve in the immediate future.

"Anyone playing cricket for West Indies would like one day to captain the team, but at this point in time, it is not one of my goals," he said. "It is not something I'm looking forward to. All I'm concentrating on is trying to see how Dwayne Bravo can improve on his game, both batting and bowling. If I was to captain West Indies, so be it, but I've not set my mind on it."

Bravo's inclination to offer advice tells you he is a thinking cricketer. "I've captained teams before. I've had an understanding about the game. Therefore, when I see certain things on the field, I think the captain is very open-minded and I look forward to giving him a few tips."

Lara said it was important that players come forward to show leadership material. "You've got guys who are growing in a team and you need all of them to be leaders. At this present time, we've got guys like Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Wavell Hinds, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan who I consider leaders in the team. As a guy gets more comfortable and more experienced, you expect him to take up that role, even if it is indirectly."

At a time where there is the perception that there is a leadership crisis in West Indies cricket, these are encouraging signs. "The most important thing is the guys are showing they have the ingredients to lead," Lara said. "They're going to be given the opportunity, first of all at first-class level and then we'll see how they do.

"For this team to continue growing and to be successful, we need the guys showing that they want to grab the responsibility in front of them at the moment - which is being senior players."