91Èȱ¬

After dutifully scribbling his name a few times, the West Indies star with the distinctive diamond ear-rings confirms he is happy to chat to the 91Èȱ¬, but first he needs some treatment.

A full hour after submitting himself to the physio's table, "Sars" limps onto the team coach and we reconvene at a trendy hotel in a village just outside town - the sort of boutique joint favoured by wedding parties.

But still, Sarwan is not quite ready. He asks the girl on reception to recommend a Thai restaurant, and somewhat cheekily - but with lashings of charm - mimics her local accent. Then, finally, we can begin.

Sarwan's in the early part of the year (626 runs in just six Test innings in the Caribbean) came too late to persuade any of the Indian Premier League franchises to offer him a deal this year.

Nevertheless, I suggest, his fans must have been surprised that he was overlooked.

Sarwan laughs but admits: "I was a bit surprised to be honest." By way of explanation, he adds: "I think the way the Twenty20 has been going they are looking for more all-rounders now. If they don't pick the genuine quick bowlers, they pick bowlers who can bat or batsmen who can bowl, so they are very clear on what they are looking for."

Having had a brief taste of the action in 2008 during four matches for the he is not averse to having another crack at the league some time in the future.

"I just want to concentrate on what is happening now, and hopefully everything will fall into place."

One thing is very much in the past, however - the small matter of the West Indies captaincy. When Brian Lara retired after the 2007 World Cup, Sarwan was appointed as his successor, but the tenure lasted only until the first day of the second Test when he as he attempted to cut off a four.

The shoulder injury was so severe that he was ruled out of the remainder of the tour, then for a further 10 months. By the time he finally returned, as vice-captain to Chris Gayle, his replacement was rather enjoying the role and remained in charge.

At 28, Sarwan is still relatively young. Having been Lara's deputy for so many years, does he not harbour thoughts of leading the team out once again?

"No, no. I think I've had my opportunity to captain the West Indies and am not even thinking about it now. I just want to concentrate on what I have to do. Obviously Chris has been doing great and we've got the young guy Denesh Ramdin as vice-captain."

Born on an island in Guyana's , Sarwan was thrust into West Indies' middle order as a 19-year-old, and had just turned 20 when touring England for the first time in 2000.

In a series dominated by bowlers (England had Gough and Caddick, the Windies Ambrose and Walsh) Sarwan outshone Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jimmy Adams to top the averages.

Inevitably, inconsistencies crept into his batting - at his best he is a naturally gifted right-hander whose nimble footwork at the crease is a joy to behold - but he continued to be seen as one of the few really good West Indians of his generation

The was, famously, the first time West Indies had lost the Wisden Trophy following a 31-year period of plenty. But having finally won it back a couple of months ago, are they on the verge of handing it back to England at the first opportunity?

Sarwan thinks not: "We have an outstanding chance. I thought we played really well in the Caribbean but the conditions are totally different so it's going to be a challenging test for all of us.

"Quite a few of us have played here before, but we've got quite a young team as well - a new group of guys - so it's important the ones who have played here give some experience to the younger ones.

"We have to play well as a team. We really can't depend on one or two players, we have to bat as batting unit and bowl as a bowling unit.

"You don't want to be too over-confident. It's important to understand that you start from scratch again. I don't want to get too ahead of myself and hopefully I'll be able to continue the same form that I've had in the Caribbean."

The condescending attitude some people in England appear to have towards any Test cricket that does not involve Australia clearly rankles.

"It was said our series was a warm-up for the Ashes and that's been noticed in the Caribbean. Right now we've got a battle on our hands to concentrate on playing England - it's up to them whether they want to get two months ahead of themselves."

Are there any new players who we should look out for this summer?

He names 32-year-old opening batsman Dale Richards as someone we should keep our eyes on, as well as the paceman Andrew Richardson, 27, who has experience of English league cricket.

Perhaps the most exciting new fast bowler is , just 22 - and his emergence is one of the reasons why Sarwan resists the opportunity to condemn Sir Allen Stanford, who came with his dollars to regenerate West Indian cricket, before leaving just as quickly after becoming the subject of an American fraud investigation.

"Really and truly I think [Stanford] has shown a lot of young guys through. Quite a few came though the [domestic] Stanford Twenty20, young players like Pascal. If it wasn't for that god knows what we would have seen, or how many young players we would have seen coming through."

This exasperated comment suggests he is not too thrilled with the grassroots development of the game in the Caribbean.

Sarwan expands: "It's not the situation like you have in county cricket, where a player can get contracted for £70,000 a season or whatever. But I think some sort of improvement will happen with first-class cricket. There might be some solid security, I think, a direct commitment from the board.

"I think the board is going to try to start a Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean because at the moment we don't have one."

He concedes interest in the sport across the region has dwindled alarmingly, but feels recent success against England has arrested the slump.

"When we played against you guys it kind of changed all that. It created some interest. You can't blame people. The fact we have played so badly the past couple of years, they were kind of distancing themselves.

"But now we've been playing pretty well we're getting some support again. American sport has been creeping into West Indian society a bit but cricket is still the number one sport in the Caribbean and it always will be, regardless of whether we play good or bad."

It's a good place to finish. With one last smile, and a gracious "thanks a lot, you take care now", Sarwan bids farewell, no doubt looking forward to a long soak in a bath before sampling the finest green curry Essex can produce.