West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul arrives at the Norman Manley International Airport on May 4, 2005. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP):
SHIVNARINE CHANDERPAUL resigned as West Indies cricket captain yesterday after spending a disappointing year in the job.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced that it had received a letter from the 31-year-old Chanderpaul, who said his focus would now be on recovering his batting form that deserted him on recent tours as the strain of captaining a losing team took its toll.
"This (resignation) would give me an opportunity to focus on my batting and other areas of my cricket where I would be able to make a more significant contribution to the team, by being more focused on my batting," Chanderpaul said.
Chanderpaul led the West Indies to just one victory in 14 Tests in charge. Under his captaincy, the West Indies lost 10 and had three draws. His record at one-day level was two wins against 14 losses in 16 matches.
The WICB said it would soon name a replacement for the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe and India which start in just over two weeks.
LIKELIEST REPLACEMENT
The likeliest replacement is Ramnaresh Sarwan, the 25-year-old who was Chanderpaul's vice-captain.
"I have served my time as the captain and would like to pass the mantle on to another person. I would fully support my replacement, and work towards the good of the team," Chanderpaul said.
Chanderpaul was thrust into the position almost by default last March when the contentious contract dispute between some players and the WICB resulted in the end of Brian Lara's second tenure at the top.
The left-hander started with a Test double century against South Africa but his team lost the four-match series in the Caribbean 2-0.
There were more encouraging returns when his side drew 1-1 with Pakistan in the final Test series of the home season.
But the prolonged contract impasse led to a second string team touring Sri Lanka in July and August where the hosts swept the two-Test series 2-0.
Top-ranked Australia continued Chanderpaul's downward spiral with a 3-0 blanking in November, while New Zealand defeated the West Indies 2-0 in the three-Test series.
The West Indies' next assign-ment is a seven-match one-
day series against Zimbabwe beginning April 29. That is followed by five one-dayers and four Tests against India from May 12-July 4.
