Y criticise Lara so much?

[Pratters]

Its sick the way some people in the Caribbean keep criticising Lara whenever they get an opportunity. This guy is a tremendous player but more importantly, is leading his team well. So what do people in the Caribbean do? They put in articles like this one - http://tinyurl.com/3byub

When appreciation is due to him, the people just say he is a genius. Its sad the way he is cornenred by his 'own' people.

 

[krkode]

It is my personal opinion that without Lara, the Windies would be hardly comparable to Zimbabwe.

The guy's a geneous, and whether or not he can captain a team to whitewashes galore is a different matter altogether. He is the only West Indian captain who does not have a premier fast bowler at his disposal in a long time. No Ambrose, no Walsh, no Marshall, etc. He has none of that talent.

And yet he plays on. So beautifully. So confidently. So magnificently. That's leadership, if you ask me.
Leadership isn't something you're appointed to. That's just giving you authority. True leadership is what Tendulkar did when India was different, what Heath Streak does with his bunch of rag tag cricketers and what Lara does today. So many people don't get that concept...just because a guy can't lead you to 16 consecutive victories doesn't mean he's not a good leader.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Lara did as much as he could in that series. He set attacking fields at the start but the bowlers didn't bowl to it. He set innovative fields (esp. to Smith) but once again the bowling let him down. He defended to slow the run rate when required and that worked to an extent. He scored 532 (?) runs in the series with a double and single century. What more could he do to force a victory?

 

[Pratters]

Lara did as much as he could in that series. He set attacking fields at the start but the bowlers didn't bowl to it. He set innovative fields (esp. to Smith) but once again the bowling let him down. He defended to slow the run rate when required and that worked to an extent. He scored 532 (?) runs in the series with a double and single century. What more could he do to force a victory?

Yes. So why do people like the guy in the article criticse him?

 

[Craig]

Because they are jealous insularic idiots who probably know little about the game considering he has saved the WI backside so many times it aint funny.

 

[krkode]

Yes. So why do people like the guy in the article criticse him?

Just because they feel like blaming someone.

Sad, but I think it's true.

 

[Linda]

That article is just complete BS. I would be certain that NOT ONE person on this forum would think about critisising Lara, and yet some d***head journalist has gone ahead and done the unthinkable. :rolleyes:

 

[Slow Love™]

I'm a huge fan of Lara, in fact, I think he's the best batsman in the world. But it should be remembered that the criticisms of Lara in that article relate to his captaincy, not his batting.

I wouldn't necessarily argue that he's not a poor captain - he seems confused in the field, and I don't know that many would argue that he has an "erratic" personality.

These, I think are legitimate criticisms, but having said that, there IS a massive overreaction in the Caribbean to his failures, and he only needs a couple of dud innings for people to be calling for his head. This is because the nature of the West Indies is that they are a collection of small, independent countries, and with that comes a lot of political infighting as to who gets represented in the team (it also comes down to ethnic background, which is what gets Sarwan and Chandrapaul a lot of heat from some quarters).

I notice that the article you provided is from caribbeancricket.com. Visit their message boards, and witness the territorial infighting and points scoring there. It's a real eye-opener.

 

[djsj]

lara is a great player. He is a contender for best batsmen in the world. He is also a great captain and can lead his team to great victories.

 

[Richard]

No-one can possibly dispute Lara's batting skills. To do so would be frankly insane, when he has scored (note - scored - not just had against his name, or against sundry weak attacks) so consistently for two periods, and still done perfectly acceptibly in his less consistent period.
So, the captaincy is all that he could be criticised for. IMO there are better captains but certainly there are worse ones too. I have never been one to judge a captain on results - judge him on what you see. A captain simply cannot be blamed for leading a team of poor bowlers and fielders.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

A captain simply cannot be blamed for leading a team of poor bowlers and fielders.

Exactly. Lara has given his players every opportunity to perform and has done his best to inspire. He's also made some odd yet effective bowling changes in his stint.