Dancing to Lara's theme

The February tour of New Zealand for five ODIs and three Tests seemed a pivotal series for West Indies cricket, but time revealed the pivot to be more of a pirouette. Having lost the first four one-day matches, the West Indies avoided a whitewash with a Dwayne Smith's 5 for 45 inspiring victory in the last game.

By the third Test in Napier - with New Zealand already comfortably 2-0 - Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, was dismissing the West Indies as hardly worth a challenge, observing that they made mistakes in "batting, bowling and every facet."

It was the last straw for captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, controversially appointed barely a year before to replace Brian Lara. He returned to the Caribbean and resigned, prompting speculation over the identity of his successor; the names of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Daren Ganga were raised with equal gusto but it turned out to be Brian Lara, for a record third captaincy.

At the press conference in Port-of-Spain where the announcement was made, Lara described himself as a "father figure" and a "leader" in the team. This time around, he said, he would define success as producing a leader, improving the relationship between the West Indies Players' Association and the WICB, "turning the corner" for West Indies cricket, and playing well at the World Cup. He also hoped the resurgence would come under his leadership.

He seemed to be making an immediate impact as the team beat the visiting Zimbabweans 5-0 but, in the way Fleming was looking over West Indian heads in preparation for his South African encounter, so Lara was looking over Zimbabwe for the India visit that followed.

Rahul Dravid's men arrived without Sachin Tendulkar, and seemed to be struggling as the West Indies won the ODIs 4-1. But the upcoming Tests were to highlight the true balance of the teams as they moved from match to match with only draws to show. They turned out to be much more closely contested affairs than had been imagined from either side, complete with dramatic twists and sideshows.

It began innocuously enough towards the end of the fourth day of the first Test in Antigua, when a rampant Mahendra Singh Dhoni appeared to have been caught by Daren Ganga perilously perched at the boundary. Did he take the catch or was he on the rope? Ganga thought he did. Lara believed him. The umpires consulted and couldn't conclude and the issue descended into an unpleasant scene with Lara gruffly taking the ball away from umpire Asad Rauf. Eventually, Dhoni walked, but the tension was palpable.

It would get worse during the series as the matches continued to be drawn and Lara began making it known that selectors were ignoring his requests for fast bowlers. Things came to a head on the final day of the fourth Test at Sabina after India had won by 49 runs to take the series - the first time they had won a series in the Caribbean in 35 years.

At the post-match conference, Lara blasted away at "bad pitches and bad selection," finally opening up fully on what he had been suggesting through the preceding weeks. That morning, after a Harbhajan Singh offbreak went past his edge, he'd pointed sarcastic applause with his bat in the direction of the groundsmen. Before reporters, he elaborated his selection grievances. He had not received until June 29 a letter, dated May 28, informing him that he was part of the selection process. All the while he had been complaining about exclusion from the selection process, no one at the WICB had thought to mention this letter to him.

He went on to air his own suspicions about the preparation of the pitch, and said he would have to reconsider the captaincy. Later, he would write an apology for the outburst, saying he had overreacted. But it did not bode well for future relations.

There was more controversy later in the year, this time over the highly publicised Stanford 20/20 Tournament in Antigua - an issue in which the extent of Lara's influence was revealed. Allen Stanford, a wealthy American based in Antigua, had come up with a lucrative package for cricketers and regional boards to participate in the tournament. Initially, the WICB had been cool towards it but, after considering the couple of hundred thousand US dollars being offered to each administrative board to develop its local cricket, warmth filled the air.

Then the submerged ice began to come up as the timing of the Super Star match against South Africa - which would have generated $5 million - clashed with the West Indies tour of Pakistan in October. Stanford was told the dates were inflexible, and that he could not even be offered a list of the team selected for that tour so he could choose his Super Star team. WICB President Ken Gordon said it was upon Lara's advice the team for Pakistan was not to be named until after the Malaysian tri-nation series.

Several contradictory statements were published from the WICB and Stanford's people, and eventually Stanford cancelled the match. This provoked a bitter response from Michael Holding, who resigned from the WICB Cricket Committee, headed by Clive Lloyd, his former captain.

Before the fury could subside, the team was off again, this time for a four-month-long haul in Asia. They managed to reach the finals of two one-day tournaments - the DLF Cup tri-series in Malaysia and the Champions Trophy in India, losing to Australia in both. In Pakistan, they lost the Test series 2-0 and the five-match one-day series 3-1, before returning home to begin preparations for the regional Carib Cup and KFC Cup competitions scheduled to start on January 4, and of course, the World Cup in March.

New man on the block - Morton matures
Runako Morton's third coming after a turbulent start brought a new attitude and commitment that could develop into the right mix of aggression and composure to make him a potent early batsman. He was the anchor during the New Zealand tour with his first ODI century, and scored another against Zimbabwe. His growing maturity was evident in his 90 against Australia during the ICC Champions Trophy.

Fading stars - Wavell's wavering form
As an inexperienced team (Lara and Chanderpaul excepted), stars haven't blazed steadily enough to begin to fade. Wavell Hinds may find his poor form this year shaking his position on a team looking for new blood. A thoughtful player, it would be a loss, but the signs are ominous. He was dropped after the New Zealand tour, and played only when others were injured, but still didn't find his form.

High point - Lara overruns Kaneria
In almost every year that he has represented the West Indies, Brian Lara has provided some special moment that one can coast along on for a long while. This year, it was a spectacular 216 against Pakistan at Multan, replete with magnificent bursts like the 26-run over against Danish Kaneria that included three consecutive sixes and two fours.

Low point - 20/20 blindness
The entire handling of the Stanford 20/20 dispute was a sorry mess that reached a sad low when it degenerated into a war of words between Michael Holding and Lloyd. It was appalling to see legends falling at each other's hands.

What does 2007 hold?
The end of an era. For a decade and a half West Indies cricket has draped itself on the arm of Lara, at some points only stirring interest because he was escorting it to the dance. With his retirement probable after the England tour in mid-2007, it ends a turbulent relationship that has been as passionate, painful and exciting as any truly great love story. Nothing on the horizon suggests a new romance soon.

Epilogues
In March the West Indies hosts the World Cup, with games taking place in nine countries and involving logistics on an unprecedented scale. What it brings immediately and in the long term will inevitably be the post-game subject as West Indians tot up the costs and weigh them against the benefits. Whether it will be a celebration or autopsy remains to be seen but one thing's for sure: Caribbean cricket culture will not be the same afterwards.