February 19, 2008	Tuesday	Safar 11, 1429

BRIDGETOWN, Feb 18: Richie Richardson, the former West Indies captain, has backed Ramnaresh Sarwan to return as captain for the forthcoming home series against Sri Lanka and Australia, instead of stand-in captain Chris Gayle.

“From way back, even when Shivnarine Chanderpaul was there, Sarwan was my man,” Richardson told The Nation, a Barbados daily. “There is something about him that I like. He has the demeanour, the approach and I think he commands respect.”

Sarwan, who was groomed for the job from the time he was appointed vice-captain in 2003, succeeded Brian Lara as West Indies captain before last year’s tour of England.

When he was afflicted with recent injuries, Gayle took over and was able to inspire the team to a one-day series win against England and a maiden Test win on South African soil, prompting many observers to favour him for the job when Sarwan returns.

“Gayle seems to be a different person when he assumes the role as captain of West Indies,” Richardson said. “For some reason he was able to get a response out of the bowlers in particular.

“I’m sure whoever they choose as captain, it doesn’t matter as long as the team rallies around that individual and that individual goes out there, leads from the front, gets the guys together and tries to get the team to play better.

“Nobody knows who is the ideal person, but at the end of the day, if we have support for whoever is captain, the team will perform better. I would go for Sarwan. If they remain with Gayle, I wouldn’t have a problem with that.”

Richardson, one of 14 legends sitting on the Stanford 20-20 board of directors, is however not convinced that the team will be a force to reckon with until there are changes to the set up in the region.—Agencies