Carew says Lara's comments were "unnecessary"

Joey Carew, the West Indies chief selector, has described Brian Lara's reaction, following the 1-0 Test series loss to India, as "unnecessary".

On Sunday, at the end of the fourth Test in Jamaica, Lara complained bitterly about team selection and the state of the pitches in the region. Lara, who publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the teams chosen throughout the four-Test series, revealed that he only discovered he was selector a day before the start of the final Test, an appointment he claimed had been ratified since May 28.

Lara said he may consider relinquishing his position as captain for a third time. "There's a meeting coming up in a couple of weeks," Lara had stated, "and depending on the selectors, I'll definitely revisit my decision to captain West Indies."

The three West Indies selectors are convenor Carew, Gordon Greenidge and Clyde Butts, but Lara did not specify whose reappointment or omission would determine his next move, adding that he was ignorant of whether the selectors, including Bennett King, the West Indies coach, were aware that he was to be involved in the selection process.

A guarded Carew briefly chided Lara's decision to make those public pronouncements. "They were unnecessary," he said," He should have addressed his concerns to the [West Indies Cricket] board and now he will have to answer to them for those statements."

But asked if there was any justification in Lara's arguments and grouses, Carew said: "Since I'm involved in the matter, I would rather not comment on it and leave the decision on how to proceed from here up to the WICB."

Efforts to reach Ken Gordon, the WICB president, proved futile as he was said to be out of the country. Lara was also criticised by cricket commentators including Tony Cozier, who said the captain's "repeated rantings" throughout the series only served to deflect attention away from his own tactical deficiencies on the field and "the task at hand".