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I get the feeling that there is some presumption the West Indies will appoint a new captain after the Australian tour.

When a team struggles in the way the West Indies have Down Under, the easiest thing to do is to look for scapegoats and the easiest target is usually the captain, especially if he's been unable to inspire his players by example.

This quite clearly is the scenario facing Jimmy Adams and this might have prompted speculation that he will either resign or be given the boot.

I don't think the constant changing of captains will improve West Indies cricket, but there's always bound to be a question mark about the leadership when the driver doesn't appear to be driving.

Therein lies Adams' fate; but we might have to look at the overall performance of the team if we want to be truthful about the present state of West Indies cricket and what we need to do to get it back on track.

However, it would seem that it's the question of captaincy that's very much on the front burner, never mind anything else. Choose a new skipper and everything will be all right.

Former Jamaican and West Indies batsman Maurice Foster appears to be the one who apart from John Public has set the fire ablaze on this issue. He urged Adams to rethink his position after the tour and went on to suggest that some of the candidates that could be considered to replace him include Sherwin Campbell and Ridley Jacobs, both of whom are thought to be capable of commanding a play in the squad. But enter Carl Hooper. He returns to regional first class cricket and makes himself available for selection to the team after a two-year retirement.

Suddenly, he is earmarked as the man to lead the team. The spin doctors have been working overtime to influence the situation.

First public relations officer of the Guyana Cricket Board, Terry Holder, takes Foster to task for his statement, and now the board members have mandated their president Chetram Singh to push Hooper's case to the West Indies Cricket Board.

The Guyana position has found support from well-known cricket aficionado Tim Hector of Antigua. As yet I can't remember anyone of influence in Barbados pushing the cause of Campbell who's the current vice-captain. However, I suspect this might only be a matter of time.

The cricket politics on this matter will intensify. My only hope is that it does not serve to make us more insular than we are already, when we truly need to unite to rebuild West Indies cricket.

To be honest, I presume, it will create lots of divisions, but I hope I'm wrong.

© The Barbados Nation