What cricket means to West Indians (Part 15) …Sarwan appointed 29th West Indies skipper

Sep 01, 2016 Sports

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By Sean Devers
Ramnaresh Sarwan was appointed the 29th West Indies Test captain and seventh Guyanese to hold the job when he was named skipper for the tour to England in May 2007. With 65 Tests and 4, 268 runs at an average of 38.80, the

26-year-old was taking on what many felt was ‘the poisoned chalice’ of West Indies cricket after past captains such as Lara, Hooper and Chanderpaul had failed in the job since the team began their slump at the International level in 1995.
The attitude of the players and the inept way West Indies cricket was being administered were blamed for the team’s poor showing at the International level while many criticized Lara’s leadership.
The woeful showing at the CWC was especially disappointing for the supporters. Many of Sarwan’s fans felt this was not the best time for him to take on the burden of captaincy.
“When you are not performing everyone questions how you play, your commitment and what you do in your private life and I guess that’s understandable. It hurts when we lose games and maybe everyone should take some of the blame…the players, coaching staff and the administrators,” the new Skipper stated.
“This is an important position and I take it very seriously. I feel my biggest challenge is to get the players, coaching staff and the administrators to look in one direction….to work together as one big team for the betterment of the game…..I think that will be a big step in our moving forward as a team and improving the image of West Indies cricket,” Sarwan opined after his appointment.
Although he has acted as stand-in skipper during his tenure as Lara’s deputy from 2003, Sarwan said that being appointed means you need to show more leadership qualities, be an example to the players both on and off the field and lead from the front at all times.
“I have been fortunate to have played at youth level with most of the guys which makes it easier now we are on the same Test team. The guys also have a good relationship with the junior players and since the younger guys have seen me play when they were 16 year-olds, they look up to me. This makes it easier for me to help guide them in the right direction,” Sarwan informed.

Some worried that the captaincy could affect his batting while others fear his social activities could affect his captaincy.
Sarwan, the leading West Indian batsman in the recent CWC2007, feels neither of the two will happen.
“Yeah, I know certain things will have to change now that I am captain. I am fully aware of my responsibilities. I will continue to enjoy my cricket and my life but there is no way that after all this hard work, I will allow my social life to affect the team or my cricket,” he assured.
Sarwan felt the responsibility of captaincy could also help with his sometimes impetuous stroke play.
“I have been known to play some rash shots at times and I am confident that the added responsibility will help my batting especially now that Brian is no longer in the team and we all have to step up and play our part,” Sarwan added.
The players’ aversion to training has also been blamed as a reason for their demise and the team is presently without a trainer after the last one resigned. But Sarwan felt that was also exaggerated.
“Some things are made out to be worse than they are. But I do agree there is room for improvement in the area of fitness. As Captain I fully support a properly structured fitness programme and we will have a fitness trainer in time for the England tour.
There are so many reasons why we have not performed as we should. I would like the players to be themselves, to be comfortable and we need to fully understand what it means to consistently perform well.”
After just a single day’s match practice in England, the first Test began on May 17 and although four batsmen scored centuries as England declared at 553-5 and Kevin Pietersen flayed an impeccable second innings ton, the young, inexperienced West Indies side showed commitment and fight even if they at times lacked consistency.
It was heartening to see the team spirit among the side and almost everyone contributed with the bat, even the bowlers, as the West Indies scored 437. Gayle and Vice-Captain Daren Ganga then saw their team to 89 without loss in their second innings as the rain affected match ended in a draw. It was a good start to their campaign without Lara and Sarwan appeared to be getting the full support of a united team. This was one aspect that appeared missing during Lara’s tenure as skipper.
After a promising start to the tour, the West Indies’ fortunes took a nose dive both on and off the field in the second Test at Headingly.
Chanderpaul was ruled out of the game on the morning of the match due to a knee injury, while skipper Sarwan injured his shoulder while chasing a ball on the first day and was unable to take further action in the rain-hit contest. He was eventually ruled out of the entire series and replaced by Marlon Samuels.
In the previous meeting at headingly in 2000, the West Indies lost in two days. This was the first time since 1946 that a test had ended in two days and the visitors eventually lost their first series in England in three decades.
In the 2007 series, England piled up 570-7 declared with skipper Michael Vaughan returning to Test cricket for the first time in 18 months with a century. South African born Pietersen hit his first double century; a scintillating 226 as the Caribbean bowlers struggled for consistency.
In overcast conditions, left-arm pacer Ryan Sidebottom rocked the visitors with 4-42 as they fell for 146 with Sarwan being unable to bat. Asked to follow-on, West Indies ended the second day on 22-2 still 402 runs away from avoiding their second consecutive innings defeat at headingly.
Rain, which washed out the entire third day, only prolonged the West Indies defeat as the visitors crashed to their heaviest defeat since 1928 and their biggest against England since 1957. With a day and almost a session to spare, West Indies had lost by an innings and 283 runs with Sidebottom taking another four wickets as only Dwayne Bravo with 52 offering any resistance.
The West Indies also lost the next two Tests to lose the series 3-0 as Ganga captained the team in the last two matches.

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