A LOT of people are having a go at Brian Lara because the last two Test matches have been lost in quick time and it's a fact that the losing captain always gets the blame. But would the team play any better under another captain? A lot of former West Indies players would say 'yes' but how do you prove it?
Avoiding action: Lara should consider ceding the captaincy. Quite frankly the team he is leading simply aren't very good. Which of the five fast bowlers who have played in the first two matches - Tino Best, Jermaine Lawson, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore and Fidel Edwards - would get into any other international side barring Zimbabwe and Bangladesh (and it's a joke to call them Test sides)?
What about the spinner, Omari Banks, and the all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo? The answer is none, not even into the New Zealand side who came here with a lot of injured bowlers and then had others break down.
Full marks to the West Indians for lots of effort, big hearts and plenty of character but the fact is they are raw novices, lost in the big league. You can't put in what God left out so when they're bowling at England they can't exercise any control over the batsmen and stop them making big totals, which allows England to control the game. It's a simple recipe for failure.
When it comes to the batting there are only four guys who can make runs: Lara, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Bravo, Dwayne Smith and Banks are raw and totally out of their depth. In the short time they bat there seems to be potential but as soon as they come under pressure they fold.
The three seamers can't bat for toffee and Ridley Jacobs, who has made runs in the past, is out of form and, at 36 years of age, coming to the end of his career.
With a line-up like that it's difficult to post any sort of a total unless Lara makes a big score and he looks as though he's had two rough decisions out of four. The other three have good records but they don't frighten you like Lara.
The question is, how can the captain bat for the others? Answer: he can't.
The next question is how could a new captain make them bat any better? I don't believe anybody could do that. They simply aren't good enough. Maybe Lara could set better fields and attack new batsmen more but whatever is agreed with the bowlers, they have to have the ability to bowl to the field and from what I've seen they can't do that.
It's a nightmare being the captain of a poor side when you're the best batsman. I had it in the Seventies at Yorkshire, when I took over from Brian Close with a side of youngsters. You try like heck but in the end it affects you and wears you down.
I don't think anyone can lift this team and only Lara making big hundreds will give them any kind of chance of getting a result. That puts hellish pressure on him and whatever he does he'll pay the price because losing generals always get the sack.
It doesn't help that over the years he's upset various people. He's got away with poor timekeeping, missing nets and various other misdemeanours and he's rubbed up former players and officials the wrong way. On top of that there's a lot of envy about his world records with the bat and those jealousies come back to haunt him when he's on the wrong end of it.
I was sacked as captain after eight years but things didn't get any better under Chris Old, Ray Illingworth or David Bairstow and I sense that will happen here. They'll get rid of Lara but the team won't get any better, no matter who they give the job to.
Take my word for it, being captain of a poor or just plain ordinary side is no fun. I wish I had never been captain of Yorkshire because it was like batting with a sack of coal on my back and doing it brings you to your knees mentally. The burden just gets heavier and heavier and that is what is happening to Lara.
If I could give him one piece of advice, I'd tell him: 'No one remembers who was captain; they only remember the great players.' After this series finishes he should reflect and give serious thought to giving it up. Not because of outside pressures but for the sake of his own peace of mind.