ST JOHN’S – Anthony Martin said that Leeward Islands failed to live up to expectations in the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament because the side was wrought with disunity and chaos.
The West Indies leg-spinner led the Leewards in the tournament which ended last Sunday in Barbados, but said he had no desire to skipper the side in the Regional 4-day Tournament, scheduled to open on February 3.
“I don’t think I am going to be able to manage the captaincy again,” Martin told the local daily Antigua Observer in an interview.
He said: “If you say Antigua team, I would be comfortable being captain of Antigua, where everybody knows our aim, everybody knows our goal, everybody knows what we are all about, so it is easy to go out and deal with a team like that.
“But with Leeward Islands where you have guys [who] just want to do as they feel like, I can’t deal with that.”
Martin also called for sweeping changes to the squad, complaining that some players wanted to do their own thing.
His comments came a day after Andre Russell and Shawn Findlay said a lack of togetherness undermined Jamaica’s chances of winning the Caribbean T20.
Russell was unambiguous about the reasons for Jamaica’s demise, blaming a lack of cohesiveness among the players.
“As a team it is about sticking together and we are kind of lacking in that department at the moment,” the West Indies all-rounder said in an article appearing in the Jamaica Gleaner on Tuesday.
“It’s not professional for players to go on the field and some are doing one thing and some are doing another thing. We need to work together more as a team and if we can do that, then just like how we win the other tournaments we can win the T20 as well.” (CMC)
