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Port-Of-Spain - Former West Indies off-spinner Jack Noriega has called for Brian Lara to step down from the West Indies captaincy.

The regional team's best interests, said the former off-spinner, require that Lara do it promptly.

The 63-year-old Noriega, the West Indies record holder for the most wickets taken in an innings (nine for 95 against India at the Queen's Park Oval in 1971), told the Trinidad Express that Lara should resign from the position in order to give more attention to his batting.

'Lara would do a lot better by giving up the captaincy and work more on his batting. He needs to lead from the front - which means the middle of the batting order - and the best way to do it is by scoring big runs.'

But Noriega warned that administrators needed to be extremely careful if and when they decide to relieve the double world record holder of his leadership responsibilities.

They cannot afford to give Lara the impression that he is coming down in the world, he said.

'Some arrangement must be made not to make him feel that he is being demoted. He has to be convinced that he would best serve the team in the role of a batsman who is making lots of runs.'

Asked whom he felt could take over at the helm, Noriega declined to name any names.

'That I would leave to the selectors, but I don't think (Jimmy) Adams should be chosen to do the job.

'Although he is a brilliant fieldsman and stable man, he interrupts the flow of the batting when he should be keeping the score ticking over and so he gets others out. I wouldn't recommend Adams.'

© The Barbados Nation