WICB to discuss captaincy (22 January 1999)

22 January 1999

WICB to discuss captaincy

The Trinidad Express

All aspects of the team's dismal performance on the tour of South Africa will be examined by a full meeting of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) on February 23, chief executive officer Stephen Camacho confirmed yesterday.

"The reports of the manager (Clive Lloyd), coach (Malcolm Marshall) and captain (Brian Lara) would have been submitted by then and will be on the agenda for discussion," Camacho said. "The Board needs to have a full appreciation of everything from the tour to inform it on what decisions need to be taken."

Final planning would also be determined for the series of four Tests and seven One-day Internationals against Australia, that start with the First Test at Sabina Park, Jamaica, on March 5.

"The time is so short between the end of the South African tour (February 7) and the arrival of the Australians (February 19) that the scope of any intense preparation of the team is limited," Camacho noted. "We're hoping to firm things up within the next week or two."

One of the most pressing issues for the WICB meeting is bound to be the captaincy. Just over a year since he was appointed in preference to Courtney Walsh, Brian Lara's position has been weakened by the 5-0 drubbing by the South Africans in the Test series.

WICB president Pat Rousseau said while attending an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in New Zealand recently that Lara's status would be the subject of review in the reports of Lloyd and Marshall.

It was an assertion that smacked of buck-passing. The ultimate responsibility rests with the Board that decides, on its own, whether to accept the selectors' proposal or not. Prior to the 1997 tour of Pakistan, it rejected their choice of Lara and retained the incumbent Courtney Walsh.

Camacho said the February 23 meeting would finally approve the incorporation of the Board that would entail a new constitution, a process that has been in the pipeline for the past two years. Tony Cozier

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