Sir Viv: Sarwan has the hunger, so you can't write us off

Sarwan is experienced, respected by the players and warrants his place in the side. When I was chairman of selectors a couple of years back we decided to make him captain but, for whatever reason, he did not feel the time was right.

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I'm not sure he felt comfortable around certain individuals but this time he seems ready to take on the responsibility and is hungry to make it work.

Brian Lara decided the time was right for him to stand down and I respect that. We must thank him for all he has done and move on.

Lara will be remembered as a genius, one of the greats of our game, and I hope his legacy will be that the young players of the Caribbean seek to emulate his achievements.

When Lara was in any side there was a fear factor among the opposition - he had that aura.

Sarwan and the young team he brings to England next week, including the uncapped Ravi Rampaul and Darren Sammy, should see this as a big opportunity.

Most people in England might not be expecting too much from the West Indies in this four-Test tour. For a start, the squad was announced only a few days before the start of the tour and there will be only one game - against Somerset at my old home of Taunton - before the first Test starts on May 17.

But you have to remember that there will be two teams each coming off the back of a disappointing World Cup and one of them have the memory of a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Australia to contemplate. And that side is not the West Indies.

West Indies must see this as a new start. They must feel they have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Many people expect them to lose, so what a chance to make a name for themselves; for West Indians, this is always a special tour.

They may not have much time to get ready for the big day at Lord's but that is modern cricket for you.

Administrators all around the world are killing the goose that laid the golden egg by packing in more and more international cricket on every tour and giving teams very little opportunity to adapt to the different countries and conditions.

Rather than moan about that, West Indies should accept it and hit the ground running. They should turn it into a positive and think they will be fresh going into the first Test.

Like everybody in the Caribbean, I was disappointed with the farcical scenes at the end of the World Cup.

There seemed to be a lack of common sense among the people making that decision to send Australia and Sri Lanka back on to the pitch in Barbados for three overs in the dark when everyone thought the game was over.

Surely somebody should have been able to act quickly and decisively by realising that 20 overs for the side batting second constituted a match.

But that should not detract from the fact that Australia were worthy champions. They were magnificent and have set new standards in one-day cricket.

Adam Gilchrist is a player I have long admired and he showed himself to be a true champion by producing such a fantastic century when it most mattered.

I have been asked how it compares with my century in the 1979 final, but I always hate making comparisons.

Each innings should be rated in the context of a particular time and what it meant to a particular match.

In 2007 Adam Gilchrist produced the innings that won the World Cup for Australia and that's all that matters.

The World Cup will be remembered for many frustrating and negative reasons, but I maintain that the people of the Caribbean did a magnificent job in putting on the tournament with the hand that was dealt to us.

A lot of people wondered if we would pull it off but I believe we did and now my sincere hope is that the profit that the West Indies Board make out of the tournament will go to the right people - the grass roots.

As long as that happens this World Cup should still be remembered for the right reasons.

Sir Viv Richards was an ambassador for the Johnnie Walker Know Your Limits Responsible World Cup Drinking Campaign.