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Colin Croft, in Kingston, considers the dilemma facing the West Indies team and their captain over the coming weeks

No one doubts that Brian Lara is a proud Caribbean man. He badly wants to win this Test - and the series - for obvious personal reasons, for the team and for the ailing Caribbean. Remember, he coveted the West Indies captaincy as no one else before. He is even said to have been 'groomed' for the position.

He also openly boasted that Australia had only ``borrowed'' the Frank Worrell Trophy in 1995 and that he, Lara, as captain, would redeem the glory for the West Indies. He knows he is under more pressure to perform now, as player and captain, than ever before. In Jamaica especially, Lara has nowhere to hide.

Lara's problems have escalated, some say out of retribution for his supposedly less than co-operative efforts to assist former captains Richie Richardson and Courtney Walsh. In the meantime, Lara is doing his usual about-turn on the West Indies populace.

Lara, and the West Indies Cricket Board, are contrite to the point of openly appealing to the Caribbean press and the cricketing public for support and positive vibes for the team. This is the same press and public Lara had no time for when he was a world beater.

Indeed, it has become such a climbdown that Lara is now ``hoping to set West Indies cricket back on the positive road to glory before I retire,'' instead of ``being the only person capable of taking this team to the real greatness it deserves''.

I agree with the majority of the Caribbean people, including his fellow Trinidadians, that Lara should have stepped down from the captaincy after the embarrassment of South Africa. The lack of cohesiveness and respect in the team were all too apparent then. But Lara's ego, especially when he is surrounded by his 'yes-man' advisors back in Trinidad, would never have allowed that.

Additionally, the chairman of the West Indies selectors, Michael Findlay, was actually asked to give a presentation to the entire WICB as to the merits and demerits of Lara and why he should be kept on as captain.The debate was intense, but this saved Lara's position. I wonder if this was not only doing a disservice to Lara himself, but to West Indies cricket.

Lara's own performance in the first Test, as a batsman, a player, captain and leader, was very positive indeed, easily meeting the criteria set by the WICB for the probationary period, yet the team faltered badly overall. How can anyone honestly judge from that scenario?

The WICB could have created a farcical situation for themselves with Lara's appointment for only two Tests initially and the parameters set for the assignment. What happens if Lara again does well in this second Test, but the West Indies are again thrashed?

Lara even credits Dr Rudi Webster, the newly recruited psychologist, with helping him to be more positive and focused. How long that will last is anyone's guess. As if to confirm this, Lara was 45 minutes late for practice on Friday morning. Differing explanations were given by the manager and coach. Leopards do not change their spots.

If nothing else could have convinced Lara to step down, that initial two-game probation appointment for the Australian Test series, something of a rap on the knuckles, should have made Lara realise that he is surviving at the whim of others and that he is not the architect of his own destiny, as might have been the case in the past. Lara's leadership is surely needed as a batsman who makes many runs regularly, the rock on which the foundation for the future could be built.

Lara has not made a Test century since his early 1997 effort against Sri Lanka at St Vincent. Even the cartoonists, such as the one whose work appears in the Trinidad and Tobago Express, are on his case: ``From 501 to 51; What a difference a zero makes!!'' ran the caption under one offering last week. Yet as one supporter said this week: ``Lara is the only player who is Test material in the present team, so he must be the captain.'' Captaincy by default? What next?

Lara has his supporters and detractors, and they are equally powerful. Sir Vivian Richards said: ``I do not think that Brian should be removed as captain now. He is a born leader, but he must have a team to lead. Removing him now would be more detrimental than remedial. If you look around you are not seeing anyone doing anything that warrants taking Brian's stripes away from him.''

Michael Holding, on the other hand, thinks the decision to keep Lara as captain ranks with the worst the WICB have made, and they have made some big mistakes over the last year.