It is so easy to imagine: Brian Lara, wearing a boyish grin and stepping up to the microphone and touching the peak of his cap in acknowledgement, a victory speech running through his thoughts with the same fluency as a cover drive. This is the sort of front-foot stuff he liked — not the grim defensive approach and the need to explain another defeat.Then again, victories have been in short supply in the Lara years of leadership. There was humiliation in South Africa with the 5-0 thrashing in 1998/99 and, weeks later, a home series against Australia with Steve Waugh in charge.Lara, at least, put a couple of memorable innings together. There was some nifty batting, too, among his strokeplay, much that had been missing on that first tour of South Africa. Indeed, the latter tour had been a humiliating experience and, much as manager Clive Lloyd tried to hide the gathering embarrassment over the results of an excursion mired in early financial controversy over player pay demands, it was always an uncomfortable journey.Lara’s first tenure as leader displayed all the inconsistencies of someone lacking an identity and wondering how to cope with an ageing side that was slowly disintegrating. There was little doubt that by early 2000 it was a side in need of controlled, calm leadership. Enter Carl Hooper, who oversaw the early stages of transition: first Curtly Ambrose and later Courtney Walsh who, with tired and aching bodies, knew it was ‘‘quittin’ time’’ as the reshaping of a young Caribbean side wondered about the future and what role they would play.Not at all a comforting thought if the record is examined: a list of defeats and little else. Two World Cup failures when so much was expected and a trail of wrecked dreams. A roll call of the new age of the West Indies did not create excitement. There was no one of the stature of the three Ws, no one to match Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshal, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, Ambrose or Walsh. Yet, as the Windies in this series faced the Australians and battled to overcome disciplined bowling, they faced the harsh truth that no matter how they had forged their batting skills against such an attack, it was not quite good enough. They needed to be better; they needed to dig deep and display the character and a will of their own.All they had to do was look at Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly. Batting is not all about flamboyancy but a mixture of technical skills married to silky strokeplay. Lara also gave a good exhibition of what could be achieved.Emerging from the ashes of this series defeat are players who have the personality to remember. A young favourite such as Ramnaresh Sarwan, spotted at the youth World Cup of 1998; a tick was placed against his name. He may be lacking a bit in height but his temperament is as solid as is Dravid’s and he can give it as well as take it. Then there is Shivnarine Chanderpaul: not quite your image of what it means to be a left-hander with style and charisma, but Kepler Wessels was not your average showy batsman either.Darren Ganga, overlooked for World Cup 2003, came back with a couple of innings against Australia that gave the impression he was not going to surrender his wicket that cheaply, or be awed by the Australian tactics.Lara took much comfort from his fellow Trinidadian’s fight and acknowledged that the series had seen him emerge as another Caribbean batsman fulfilling his promise. A nice touch that; forget this ‘‘coming of age’’ cliche. Ganga had long achieved that: all he needed was to give it substance. What better bowling to do it against than the Australians? If this inspires confidence for the future, the West Indies’ next overseas tour is to South Africa, also in transition. By then the bowling attack will have hopefully also shaped up. Okay, so the umpires have fingered Jermaine Lawson over his action. He is a youngster and saddling him with a comparison of the ‘Next Holding/Roberts’ is unfair on a young bowler still finding his way.Another emerging from nowhere is Omari Banks, a 20-year-old from a dot on the Caribbean map known as Anguilla, a country so small it needed a magnifying glass to locate.Hopefully for the game world-wide the celebrations and the ceremonial kissing of the pitch at St John’s (Lara’s second in 10 years) will not bring a false dawn. The game needs a strong West Indies just as it needs a strong India.
