Lara: We are going to play to a plan. - FILE
ST JOHN'S, Antigua (CMC):
PERFORMANCES WILL count, not names.
That is the new mantra for the West Indies cricket team and captain Brain Lara said he's determined to build healthy rivalry among the players.
And those on the outside looking in will get their chance as a squad rotation policy will be implemented.
"We are not going to play names anymore," Lara said after the second one-day international against Zimbabwe which the home side won by 98 runs at the Antigua Recreation Ground on Sunday.
Lara was appointed for a record third time to lead the Windies and says he has a clear idea as to how he wants to see the team improve on their waning fortunes.
POSITIONS
"We are going to play to a plan. We are going to have positions. We are going to have requirements to those positions and it doesn't matter who it is - Tom Browne, Chris Gayle, (Runako) Morton, (Shivna-rine) Chanderpaul - it doesn't matter," he said.
"If these positions are being fulfilled in the way that we like, these players are going to have the opportunity to continue within the team.
"Right now we are unsettled in terms of the order, but in our minds we have settled on what the exact positions they need to be (batting in) and we are working our way to find the right players in the right position."
He said his decision to bat at number six in the order was a move to give other batsmen the opportunity to make a name for themselves as he approached his 37th birthday yesterday.
"I'm 37 (Tuesday). Take one thing for instance, I've cut down on the number of one-days prior to this so it is a situation where the guys have to learn to play the game," Lara said.
"They have to take the responsibility and that's part of it. I'm going to have my responsibilities if it is batting at whatever position in the order.
"But I still feel we are playing with 11 guys and, yes, you might have one player who's supposed to be the premier batsman in the team, but one of the main things in this team that is lacking is in-house competition."
"I want to see someone topple whoever we consider to be the best batsman. I want to see people compete with him."
He continued: "In my days back in the early 1990s, yeah, there was Desmond Haynes and Richie Richardson, but at the end of any series I wanted to be counted as the top batsman of that series and that's what has to be created here.
"To say Brian Lara is the premier batsman is something we have to get away from our squad or [saying] this guy is indispensable. That's no longer part of this team.
"This team is going to be played on positions and everybody is going to have an opportunity to fulfil those positions."
He said some bowlers like opening pacers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards could expect a rest at some stage in the season.
"If you know that they are Test match material we want to make sure that they are fresh and ready to go and not too spent," Lara noted.
"Something is going to come into our selection and in our game and in our plans."
