By Wallace J.A

WEDNESDAY April 12, 2006: Today, Shivnarine Chanderpaul made the decision to tender his resignation, as the captain of the West Indies cricket team, to the WICB.

The once mighty West Indies cricket team has been languishing in the ‘cricketing doldrums’ for well over a decade. Experimenting with various captains over the years and even resorting to a ‘foreign coach’ does not seem to have changed the fortunes of the West Indies. Chanderpaul’s captaincy is viewed my many as just another ‘failed experiment’.

The 31-year-old Chanderpaul wrote in his resignation letter to the West Indies Cricket Board: “I would like to take this opportunity to tender my resignation as captain with immediate effect.

"This would give me an opportunity to focus on my batting and other areas of my cricket, here I would be able to make a more significant contribution to the team.

“I have served my time as 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.

“I would like to thank all who worked with me during my tenure as captain, and I am looking forward to continuing my hard work for West Indies cricket.”

WICB president, Kenneth Gordon, thanked Chanderpaul for his services as captain of the West Indies cricket team and said that a new captain will be appointed soon. As the West Indian cricket fans await this appointment, there is already a lot of talk and speculations are flying about the place as to who the next captain will be.

Here in Grenada, there is talk of Chanderpaul’s compatriot and vice captain, Ramnaresh Sarwan, getting the nod from the WICB. He has operated in the role as captain before and has the added advantage of being a ‘senior’ cricketer on the team. Sylvester Joseph, Daren Ganga and Denesh Ramdin’s names have also being mentioned. Grenadians, however, are hoping that Grenadian Rawle Lewis ( Windward Island’s cricket captain) will be given the task of leading the Windies.

“I don’t think Rawle will get it, as good as he is”, remarked one bystander. “They will never give someone from the small islands this thing. It’s someone from one of the big islands that will get the captaincy.”

Well, time alone will tell. We just have to wait and see what happens and hope that this new captain will handle himself competently both on and off the field – especially when dealing with the media – and help to reverse the loosing streak of the WI cricket team.