Lara is more committed in third stint as captain: WICB convener

Port of Spain, May 31 (UNI) Asserting that Brian Lara was more ''committed'' in his third stint as captain, convener of West Indies' selection panel Joey Carew said though there was no change in the new skipper's tactical approach but his leadership skills had certainly improved.

''He is very much committed but Brian has always been committed.

But somewhere along the line, maybe at 37, he is more matured and the players have matured themselves and I think the team is led properly and they are all pulling their weight,'' Carew told the Caribbean Media Communications (CMC) CricketPlus.

''I find that there was a different spirit that emanated from the players and I think that was the secret of their success. It proved in every game and I am looking forward to more improvement as we go into the Test (series),'' he added.

A former opener, Carew said the hosts had good match practice ahead of the series, which helped them against the much higher ranked Indians.

''Most definitely, but the match practice that we got. It's a bit different outside there than in the nets and we got the match practice that we needed. So we didn't come into the India series stale as such. We came in fresh and victorious and I think that helped a lot,'' he said.

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