ST JOHN’S (Antigua), April 17: West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan said he is ready and willing to take on the role of skipper. Brian Lara is retiring from one-day cricket at the end of the World Cup and declined to confirm if he will lead the Test side on the England tour.

“If given the opportunity I will grab it with both hands,” said Sarwan. “Whoever else captains the West Indies team I will give them my full support, but if a chance comes my way I will go for it.”

One solution that may appeal to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is to stick with Lara as the Test captain while appointing another captain for the limited-overs format.

Although the West Indies are nearly out of the semi-finals race in the ongoing World Cup, Sarwan, 26, said the remaining Super Eights stage matches against Bangladesh and England were important in terms of morale.

“After the World Cup we are going to England and we need some sort of confidence and momentum. We have a long (England) tour ahead of us and so these two games (against England and Bangladesh) are very important.”

Sarwan rejected the charge that the West Indies had not been fully fit for the World Cup.

“When you play badly people start to criticise different things,” he stated.

“We didn't field well in Guyana against Sri Lanka and obviously against South Africa and that gets pinpointed when you lose. But I think the guys are fully fit and will continue to give their full efforts,” Sarwan insisted.—Agencies