BRIAN LARA should have a marked sense of deja vu when he resumes the West Indies' captaincy in the first Cable & Wireless Test at Bourda this morning.
It is four years since he spun the coin at the Queen's Park Oval for Steve Waugh to call in the first Test of the previous series in the Caribbean - as he will once more at the start of his second tenure at the helm.
Waugh, now 37 and in his 157th Test, a new all-time record, still leads Australia who have remained the power-houses of the game.
Lara's circumstances were as grim then as they are now against opponents who, only three weeks ago, emphasisd their awesome dominance of international cricket with their 100 per cent romp to the World Cup.
In 1999, Lara had just returned from a distressing, inaugural tour of South Africa, a forlorn figure after presiding over a thrashing in all five Tests and in six of the seven one-day internationals.
To rub salt into his psychological wound, he was publicly castigated by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and told that he needed "to make significant improvement in his leadership skills".
He was without two of his finest batsmen, Carl Hooper, who was with his ill infant son in far-off Adelaide, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, out through injury. When his side buckled for a record-low 51 all out in 19.1 overs and defeat by 312 runs, his position seemed untenable.
What followed was an incredible personal revival that inspired successive victories in the next two Tests to ensure a 2-2 share of the series. His 213 at Sabina and, even more famously, his unbeaten 153 at Kensington were the stuff of dreams.
They have ever since sustained the belief of the West Indian public that anything is possible once the mercurial left-hander is present, even in the midst of the team's prolonged period of desperation.
Just a year after those marvels, Lara had resigned as captain, citing "moderate success and devastating failure", and his very future was in doubt. He soon returned but made it clear leadership would never again be an option.
Never is a long time and he explained to the media yesterday he was persuaded to reconsider by Rev. Wes Hall, a trusted elder and WICB president. Two weeks ago, he was offered, and accepted, the position again.
The transition has not been smooth.
His background did not identify him as a clearcut choice when the selectors decided to replace Carl Hooper, but neither was Hooper's when he was contentiously promoted in 2001.
In spite of the change, Lara hoped Hooper would remain. The experience of 102 Tests is not readily replaced and the West Indies needed him, as much for the variety of his off-spin bowling as his classical batting.
Initially, it seemed he would but he had a change of heart, amidst inevitable talk that he would not play under Lara, conjecture into which the new captain would not be drawn yesterday.
Already, Ramnaresh Sarwan, the most exciting of the several emerging young batsmen, had been ruled out by a finger injury and Chris Gayle, the tall left-hander who had opened in the last 24 Tests, was excluded for reasons not yet properly explained.
It meant the batting had to be completely reconstructed with the recall of Daren Ganga (average 22.96) after a year and the selection of two young newcomers, the left-handed opener Devon Smith and the all-rounder Dave Bernard.
There have been other distractions, among them a one-day players' strike prior to the Carib Beer Series final, the confusion over the new coach, a position finally rejected by the Australian, Bennett King, and the belated arrival of seven members of the squad.
The Australians have key absentees of their own.
Fast bowler Glenn McGrath (422 Test wickets, 94 against the West Indies) and leg-spinner Shane Warne (491 Test wickets, 49 against the West Indies) and classy middle order batsman Damien Martyn (Test average 46.51) are out for contrasting reasons. As they showed in the World Cup, Australia's pool of reserves is deep and they are unlikely to be missed as keenly as the three West Indians.
Even without Hooper and Gayle, Lara rated his team better in batting than in 1999 when such ephemeral names such as Suruj Ragoonath, Dave Joseph and Lincoln Roberts figured in the top four in the order.
"I know (Curtly) Ambrose and (Courtney) Walsh were still around but I think this is a more mature team, a team we can depend on a lot more," he said.
And he claimed to be unfazed by what he referred to as "a lot of things floating on the outside".
"I've got a job to do, I've got to go out there and lead the West Indies cricket team," he said. "Presently, I'm in the best possible frame of mind to do so."
"We've got to deal with the Australian team and the Australian players and ensure we give a good account of ourselves," he added. "There is no psychological advantage to the Australians because of what's happening."
There is, undeniably, an advantage to Australia in terms of experience and record. Even though Waugh is still conscious of the outcome in 1999 and the need to be "at our best", they will start heavy favourites.