Lequay says time for Brian Lara to change (24 February 1999)

24 February 1999

Lequay says time for Brian Lara to change

Garth Wattley

"I think Brian has the responsibility now to realise that it is not cricket that is ruining his life. But it is his private life that is ruining his cricket. He has that opportunity now to change that."

Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board president Alloy Lequay, is hoping that West Indies captain makes a break with the past in both word and deed. And while the local cricket board boss is prepared to lend the embattled captain a helping hand. He is no longer prepared to make the first move. "We will be very, very willing to sit with Brian and assist him," Lequay told the media yesterday. "But," the TTCB's CEO added soberingly, "we are not going to approach Brian again."

Lara, captain of the ill-fated tour of South Africa, was on Monday reappointed to the post for just the first two matches of the upcoming Test series against the visiting Australians.

And in making the announcement, West Indies Board president Pat Rousseau made it clear that Lara had to meet several performance criteria, to the satisfaction of the selectors before he was given the mandate to carry on as skipper for the remainder of the series.

"We are not prepared to wait indefinitely," Rousseau added.

The generosity of the TTCB president also appears to be limited now.

"Speaking personally, I will not approach Brian. In the past, I have approached Brian on many occasions to chat with him and offer that kind of support. And he has not responded as I would like to think. I feel that the initiative must now be his. If he needs assistance, we are available."

In 1997, the cricket board approach to Lara was much more proactive. In the midst of a raging controversy over comments Lara allegedly made about being disappointed over not getting the captaincy for the tour to Pakistan, the TTCB held a news conference stoutly defending their man and claiming that there was a plot to discredit him.

The current TTCB attitude to Lara however, differs from their past treatment of the former T&T captain.

Commenting on the actual decision to reappoint Lara for two Tests, Lequay said, "I thought that they came up with a reasonable compromise and I accept that it is a compromise. Perhaps if they had a Frank Worrell available Brian would have lost his position. But the cupboard is bare."

On the WICB' s handling of manager Clive Lloyd and coach Malcolm Marshall, who Rousseau said will also be subject to performance appraisal, Lequay said, "I think they did well. I did not see them terminating the contracts of Lloyd and Marshall. The contracts are to expire later this year and they might have created more problems by trying to terminate the contracts at this point in time."

Lequay's comments came at a press conference called to outline the TTCB's strategic plan for the future development of West Indies cricket.

The plan has been submitted to the West Indies board. And Lequay said the hope was that it would be approved and utilised in some fashion by the governing body. The TTCB, Lequay said, was prepared to implement the plan as a pilot project to show how it can work.

Long-term planning Lequay stressed was critical at this stage.

However, he noted that with the Australia tour already underway, the opportunity for proper planning in the short term has already gone.

"We waited too late to start looking at the Australia tour," Lequay said.

"Given the fact that the planning was not done in advance, there is little opportunity now but to do what they are doing. I think all they can do is take some remedial action, in the short term. And in the long term, they will have took at rebuilding."

Source :: The Trinidad Express (https://www.trinidad.net/express/)