Lara the 'blundering' captain under fire

Brian Lara cannot even cling to the consolation of being the world's No1 Test batsman any more. But it is his rating as a captain that may plummet to an unworkably low level this week if England take complete command of another series.

Slipping to second place, behind India's Rahul Dravid, was the minor price Lara had to pay for contributing only 55 runs to the West Indies' 210-run defeat at Lord's.

However, his decision to bowl first last Thursday and then his inability to cajole a raw attack into some disciplined action until it was too late resulted in another wave of complaints from the Caribbean.

Colin Croft, the former West Indies fast bowler, called for Lara to be replaced as captain when England went 2-0 ahead in Trinidad four months ago.

Now Lance Gibbs, a spinner from an even earlier era of Caribbean dominance, also has Lara in his sights. "He has made too many blunders and seems to be a little bit too big for the game," said Gibbs, before floating the thought that, sooner or later, the West Indies board "will have to do something about it".

A comprehensive England win at Edgbaston, where the second npower Test starts tomorrow, would leave Lara under great pressure. He has already threatened to resign once this year, saying he would quit as captain if the West Indies did not beat lowly Bangladesh in a Test that fell between the two series with England.