By Simon Evans
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 18 - West Indies
captain Brian Lara said he would not rush into a decision over
his future and insisted any views he had on the team's World Cup
failure would not be made public.
Lara has come under fire in the Caribbean after his side
lost all four of their second-stage Super Eights games so far
and were eliminated before the semi-finals with two still to
play.
"I'm not going to make any hasty decisions on my future --
about whether it is remaining in cricket or getting out of
cricket.
"I am going to sit back and first of all enjoy myself and
enjoy a holiday, or something like that, before deciding," Lara
told a news conference on Wednesday ahead of Thursday's
penultimate game with Bangladesh in Barbados.
"Things are not running away. Cricket is always going to be
here. It was here before I arrived and will be here long after I
leave. I am going to gradually come up with the right decision
for my future," he said.
Lara had already announced that Saturday's match against
England would be his last one-day international but it remained
unclear whether he would remain captain of the test side.
'TOUGH JOB'
The double-record holding batsmen -- he holds the highest
scores in first-class and test cricket -- declined to give an
opinion on who would be best placed to replace him as one-day
skipper.
Guyanese batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan is tipped as the
frontrunner.
"I'm not commenting on that department. I just wish the new
captain all the best. It is going to be a tough job.
"I took my decision quite a while ago and it is now up to
the West Indies Cricket Board to try to get someone," he said.
Lara faced repeated questioning about the reasons for his
team's poor performances but said he was not ready to start
analysing the failure in public.
"It's not the time for condemnation, it is a time for
constructive criticism; for in-house meetings to ensure we have
what it takes to ensure we build something for the future.
"If asked the question by the people in charge I would give
my answers but it doesn't necessarily need to be discussed
publicly.
"Of course the people of the Caribbean own West Indian
cricket but it comes down to the people who are making the
decisions and that is where I am going to give my input," he
said.
Lara said his focus was on winning the last two games
against Bangladesh and England.
"I don't think this is the stage where we come to
conclusions, we have got to finish the tournament, we have two
games left.
"The tournament goes on for another week and we are not
going to be part of it. We have just got to muster up our
confidence and ensure we end on a high," he said.
The seven-week World Cup, the first to be held in the
Caribbean, culminates in the April 28 final in Bridgetown,
Barbados.
West Indies will tour England after the World Cup finishes,
starting in May.