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The Rediff Cricket Interview/Michael Holding

'Lara became too successful too quickly... But the bigger problem is he is
not a leader of men'

So Mikey, what you are saying is this side is as talented as the team you were part of, the only difference is in the attitude?

No, this team is definitely not as talented as the one we had in the Eighties, but the point is, there is talent in this side, which they are not utilising, they are not playing to their potential, and that is because they don't care, defeats mean nothing to them, they don't have the passion and the commitment that we had. Look at Hooper, for instance. He is good enough to have been part of the Eighties side, but look at his results. I watch these guys play and it doesn't look to me like it hurts them to lose.

The recent wage dispute, how would that have affected the side?

As far as the South African tour is concerned, I think the wage fracas affected the side very badly, it damaged the morale. Especially after the younger players learnt that despite all the fuss and the fracas, they were being taken for a ride, they were not the beneficiaries, they weren't going to get anything out of the deal, it was meant only to benefit the senior players. Once this became common knowledge, team morale had to be affected, there would be rifts between the seniors and the younger ones.

Reverting to that chat I had with Clive Lloyd earlier, Mikey, he was saying that another problem is the younger generation in your part of the world is drifting away from cricket, getting attracted to games like baseball and basketball...

I agree with Clive that the younger generation is getting attracted to other things, but I don't think we can use that as an excuse. You can't help that, it happens everywhere in the world, the younger ones are caught up in new fads. What can you do? Shut down satellite and cable television? You can't make such excuses, you have to make cricket appealing, you have to make sure that young boys will want to play cricket, and provide the infrastructure to those who want to play, that is a job for the West Indies board...

Yeah, Lloyd was suggesting things like family passes -- concessional rates for those who want to bring their wives and children to watch cricket. He said when the families start coming back to the grounds, the kids will get interested again...

Sure, that is one thing we should do, bring back the crowds. We also have to market our cricket better, be more aggressive in looking for sponsors. But I think this particular board is doing some things right, like, now, we have cricket being played at the under-14, under-17, under-19 levels. Mostly, if you are going to lose a youngster to another game, it will be in the 14 to 19 age group, so now that we have these competitions, there is a continuity, the youngster's enthusiasm remains keen, he can progress up the ladder. I think that is a very good thing happening now, and I would expect the results to show maybe five, ten years down the line.

I left the best one for the last, Mikey -- Brian Charles Lara...

What about Lara?

Two, three years ago, he was slated to become cricket's greatest superstar, the modern Bradman. Today, he is an also-ran with the bat. He was also rated as the guy to bring aggression back to Windies captaincy, after the Walsh era, but under him, the performances have been disastrous. Just what is going wrong, do you think?

Some two or three years ago, I remember saying on Australian television that Lara was not stable. I said his superstar antics and his general demeanour were not going to be good either for him or for the country, I even said it would help for him to see a psychiatrist. At that time, many people said I was the one who was mad, that I needed to see the psychiatrist myself -- but what will they say today? Look at Lara, look at the stories coming out of South Africa, this is what I was warning about back then.

So what precisely is wrong with Lara? I mean, where is the problem?

For one thing, Lara became too successful too quickly and he is not mentally equipped to handle that kind of status. Look at his antics as a player. But the bigger problem is he is not a leader of men. I keep hearing them talk about how good he is with strategy and tactics, but captaincy is not about setting the right field or knowing which bowler to use when -- those things, anyone who plays cricket at the international level for a while picks up automatically.

Captaincy for me is about respecting the players you are leading, and earning their respect. You can't simply appoint some fellow as captain and expect results -- the players have got to want to play their hearts out for their captain, only then you get results.

That was what was great about Clive, he respected us and we respected and looked up to him as our captain, our leader, we gave him everything we had. I could have bowled a long spell, 10, 12 overs, I'd go off to third man thinking maaan, I can't bowl another ball, and then Lloyd would come to me and ask for one more over and I would immediately say yes, and I would push myself to bowl even faster for him. That is the kind of captain Clive was, we would kill ourselves for him.

Lara, no, I don't think he has that ability. What is more, I don't think he will ever get there. Maybe they need to take away the captaincy, let him concentrate on his batting, let someone else lead the side. Maybe after a few years Lara will mature, and deserve to lead the side again, but for now, he ain't there, maan, he just hasn't got what it takes.

Postscript: In the first of a series of exclusive columns for Rediff On The NeT, Michael Holding discusses why playing a World Cup in England is different from playing that tournament in any other country in the world. Watch for it, on Rediff, soon.

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