'Lara's captaincy key to success' - Ken Gordon

Ken Gordon, the president of the West Indies board, has highlighted the captaincy of Brian Lara as one of the key factors in the recent success of the West Indies.

Gordon told CMC's Cricket Plus, "I think we have a team that is playing with new vigour. I think they are being well led. I am seeing ongoing improvements in the bowling. There is much for us to be pleased about and I think on all fronts we have gone forward positively."

He added, "As far as the reasons for this, I think people have a sense of things settling down and I believe these things always start from the top and, for whatever reason, I think now that we have been able to settle the issue of the captaincy, I think many things have flowed from this and I hope they will continue to flow and develop."

Lara was re-appointed captain for the third time in his career in April, just before the start of a seven-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. He took over from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who failed to win a Test or ODI series since he took over last year.

Since he has taken over, Lara has led his side to nine wins, including an expected 5-0 thumping of Zimbabwe (two matches were rained off) and an unexpected 4-1 triumph over an in-form Indian side. Lara's appointment has been the subject of some criticism from ex-players, including Viv Richards who suggested the move was made with commercial objectives in mind given that the World Cup was round the corner. Others have said the move is borne of short-term vision and have raised questions about whether Lara enjoys full support from the younger members of the team.

The win against India was the West Indies first over established opposition (other than Zimbabwe and Bangladesh) since 2002 in a bilateral series. They are currently ranked no. 8 in the world ODI rankings, only above Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Kenya.