Chanderpaul Gives up WI Captaincy

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has given up the poisoned chalice that is the West Indies captaincy.

In a classic case of jumping before being pushed, the Guyanese left-hander has tendered his resignation with immediate effect, saying he wants to "focus on my batting and other areas of my cricket."

Chanderpaul is the fifth captain after Richie Richardson, Courtney Walsh, Jimmy Adams, Carl Hooper and Brian Lara (twice) to lead the West Indies side since 1995 and, statistically, his record is the worst.

In 14 Tests with Chanderpaul at the helm, the regional side has lost 10, winning just once.

"I have served my time as the 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," Chanderpaul said in his letter of resignation.

Chanderpaul, 31, averaged 47.18 with 3 centuries as captain, but he has struggled badly in recent times, managing just one score over 50 in his last 14 innings.

He has not scored a Test century since the 4th Test against South Africa in 2005, a run-feast in which 8 hundreds were scored by batsmen on either side.

There have been reports that he was not fully supported by head coach Bennett King and Chanderpaul himself has stated that he was not always in full control of on-field decisions.

Even worse, he opted to side with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) during the bitter dispute with the players' association, a decision that divided a team he would be later asked to lead.

The WICB said replacement captain "will be announced shortly."

Vice captain Ramnaresh Sarwan is the mostly likely replacement but the WICB could opt to go with Lara for a third time or buck the trend and promote Trinidad & Tobago skipper Daren Ganga.