SARWAN

GEORGETOWN,

Guyana (CMC):

West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan is bracing a tough tour of England, but expects the side minus Brian Lara's genius to give a good showing.

Regional selectors recently chose a 15-man squad without the 38-year-old Lara, who quit international cricket following the West Indies' failed World Cup campaign.

"It should be a tough tour. We have not been doing well recently but if we work hard together as a team and perform to our ability consistently we should do well," Sarwan said.

Sarwan, who served as Lara's deputy during his four-year stint as vice-captain, praised Lara's skills and said the batting star would be missed.

"Brian was so mentally tough, that's one of the things I admired about him. No one is perfect and I guess looking back there were things he might have done differently," Sarwan noted.

"But he was truly a great batsman and he will be missed. As a leader, he was his own man ... he took risks, sometimes they worked, sometimes they did not and I am sure that he will always be remembered as a superstar."

West Indies face England, also reeling from a poor World Cup, in a series of four Tests and three one-day internationals.

Two sides clash

The two sides clash in the first Test on May 17 at Lord's before moving on to the second Test at Headingley a week later.

Sarwan, who averages just 32 against England, said he would be depending on the experience of Shivnarine Chanderpaul (101 Tests), Chris Gayle (64 Tests) and Corey Collymore (26 Tests) to help him during the campaign.

"Gayle and Collymore can both lead from the front. Gayle can take on any attack while Collymore's experience should serve us well in the English conditions," Sarwan pointed out.

"Shiv is the old boy in the side and loves batting long. Everyone has got their responsibility, not just batting or bowling, but fielding too. Daren (Ganga), (Dwayne) Bravo and (Denesh) Ramdin are some of the senior guys I will be depending on to help guide the younger ones."

While much has been made of the exclusion of a specialist spinner from the touring party, Sarwan reminded that, at present, there was no spinner in the region which could be consistently destructive at the highest level.

"Yes we need a spinner for balance but we just can't pick one just to have one. They must earn their spot in the side and I hope we can soon produce a quality spinner," he said.