Sarwan shocker

The shock at Ramnaresh Sarwan's omission from the eleven for the second Test yesterday was surpassed only by Brian Lara's frank explanation for the decision.

"It's a time for Sarwan to reflect and come back strong," Lara told the world at the toss. "He is one of our main players. We know that. There's no doubt about it. It's an opportunity for him to spend some time off the field and see what it's like and come out back into the middle maybe more energetic and more purposeful."

It marked an unmistakable change in a policy that readily accommodated deceptively talented underachievers in the West Indies team in recent times. The names Carl Hooper and Marlon Samuels spring readily to mind. Lara's message was loud, clear and long overdue. It would have registered large, not only with Sarwan but with everyone vying for selection.

It was that, from now on, no one is guaranteed a place, not even the vice-captain, not even a quality batsman with 64 Tests and over 4,000 runs to his name recently ranked No 2 at ODI level. Sarwan's character will be sternly tested by this development.

Only a few days before the Test, he was acknowledging his slump in form and saying that he was "more determined than at any other time...to put together a score in this Test match". Now he must wait, perhaps even until next summer's tour of England, for his next Test.

He has come through adversity of different kinds before - the death of a cherished girlfriend midway through his first overseas tour, several blows to the helmet from unsympathetic fast bowlers, the initial loss of the vice-captaincy - and ought to come through this as well. But it is a unique experience for him, watching a Test match from the pavilion. It is the first time he has been dropped since his difficult period in Australia in 2001.

A Test average of 38 - and falling - after six years in international cricket is unworthy of a batsman blessed with the special touch. Most irritating, after all this time, is his failure to eliminate the errors that have repeatedly brought his downfall. He has been caught 13 times in Tests off the hook or pull. His square-on position early in his innings has exposed him to slip catches and lbws. Repeatedly, rank carelessness has cost his wicket at crucial times, most recently in the second innings of the first Test and the first innings of the last against India last season.

All of this would have been noted on coach Bennett King's laptop and in Lara's consciousness. There is a lesson to be learned from the player who took Sarwan's place in Multan. Runako Morton is short on genuine class, big on heart and determination. There is no certain selection for him. He has had to depend on the shortcomings of a batsman with twice his ability and his own hard work to squeeze in.