A serious Lara chats to his players after their training session at Sabina, yesterday.

Brian Charles Lara didn’t just take the West Indies through an ordinary practice session yesterday.
It was all business, and players had on their game faces already on at the Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, as Lara took part in training sessions with his team on the eve of the second Test against Bangladesh.

The Windies captain threw down the gauntlet at a news conference minutes after the practice session, saying he would step down and let someone else lead the team on the summer tour of England later this month, if the West Indies don’t win the match against the Test minnows.

Compliments of the Nation News

I Will Resign! -

Friday 04, June-2004
by HAYDN GILL in Jamaica
KINGSTON – Enough is enough!

So says West Indies captain, Brian Lara.

Yesterday, Lara dropped this bombshell by announcing he would resign as West Indies captain if his team failed to beat lightweights Bangladesh in the second Cable & Wireless Test starting in Jamaica today.

The one proviso is that there must be good weather throughout the five days at Sabina Park where it was blistering hot in the build-up to the match.

Just before high noon, there was a hush around the Marcus Garvey suite at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel when Lara made the announcement.

“If we don’t win, I don’t think I would lead the team to England,” Lara said.

“If we don’t beat Bangladesh in five good days of cricket in Jamaica, I think we need another leader,” he said.

“Some might think we need one now.”

Asked if West Indies’ failure to beat Bangladesh would be a reflection of his leadership qualities, he refused to elaborate.

He simply reiterated his earlier statement.

“If we don’t beat Bangladesh, who has not won a Test, have drawn three Test matches out of 30, in this match in five good, full, days of cricket, I think we do need to try someone else.”

His decision obviously also stems from a wretched season in which West Indies have failed to win a single Test and embarrassingly crashed to 3-0 defeat in the preceding series against England.

Since taking over the West Indies captaincy for a second time last season, the team’s record has been undistinguished. In 17 Tests, they have won only three, lost nine and drawn five. Under his first tenure as captain between 1998 and 1999, the 18 matches produced six wins, ten defeats and two draws, and Lara was prompted to resign because of “moderate success” and “devastating failure”.