Down but not yet out, Lara to battle on

“I have got another Test match to focus upon so the time for assessing my position of captain is not now,” Lara said after his team’s eight-wicket defeat inside just three days. “Assessment time will come, but most of all, there are a lot of people in position to make that assessment. Most importantly, I am here to play for West Indies. It has always been my dream to play for West Indies in whatever capacity and I will be doing that for some time to come.”

Lara quit the captaincy four years ago in similar circumstances, but he wants to see more competition from the batting to ease his workload and avoid the collapses that occurred on saturday when his team were dismissed for just 94 in their second innings. “We played four series before this and for me to score the most runs in each and every series is a little bit of a concern,” Lara said. “I still believe we have a good group of young batsmen. It’s not that they are too inadequate in technique or anything like that. It’s just a lot of pressure mentally and you have to be a big man to play Test cricket. “We have a lot of young guys playing and they are going to learn. Hopefully, the psychological effect is not going to last too long. “It could, if they get into the habit of losing a lot, and if they get into that cycle it could affect them for a long time.

“They have to understand though, that they are playing for the West Indies and are following in the footsteps of great players and we need to try and emulate them.”

Lara also believes the lack of mental strength, when the team is under pressure, is the reason for the inexplicable batting collapses particularly in the second innings of Tests. “By the time the second and third day arrives, a Test has already taken shape and a lot of pressure is created because of whichever team has the advantage,” he said. “If you are going into your second innings with a sizeable lead, that disadvantage will not be there. But, clearly, going into the second innings ‘behind the eight ball’ is going to put pressure on our batters.”