After a well-publicised meeting this afternoon, the West Indies Cricket Board have re-appointed Brian Lara as captain for the first two Tests of the series.

This appointment has ignited huge discussion all over the Caribbean, with every form of the media running stories that could compete with the recent Bill Clinton impeachment trial.

From the taxi drivers, to the waiters, to the laundry ladies at the hotel, everyone seems to have an opinion about the direction that West Indian cricket should be heading. Before tonight's announcement, it seemed that a replacement captain was likely to be appointed. The unanimous feeling in the warm Antiguan air was that this would be the first step towards getting West Indian cricket back on track.

After tonight's announcement though, nothing has changed and the left-handed batting wizard remains in charge.

Listening to the numerous talkback shows on the radio and television, it would seem that the biggest problem faced by the West Indian board was the lack of obvious contenders to replace Lara. Whatever way, we are happy that there is supposed unrest in the West Indies camp at present. Any advantage that we can gain before the Test series begins can only play in our favour.

At the Antigua Recreation ground, we experienced a relatively indifferent first day of our cricket itinerary. After winning the toss, Warney, who is standing in for Steve Waugh, decided to bat on what looked like a very flat pitch. With the luxury of hindsight, our vice-captain may have opted differently, as the pitch played a lot worse than it looked.

Greg Blewett (52), Ian Healy (32) and Michael Slater (25) all had to work very hard for their runs, on a pitch that played more tricks than a laughing circus clown. Although we were bowled out for a paltry 156, we gained some consolation, and confirmation of the state of the pitch, by taking three West Indies Board XI wickets for one run before stumps. If not for the umpires ruling on the light, I am sure that we could have taken another couple of poles before stumps.

Not to be, we are now set up for a positive day tomorrow. Until then.

From Antigua, JL