Recalled West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara says he has no regrets about giving up the role in 2000, but felt he could not turn it down again.

The West Indies Cricket Board, in a suprising move on Monday, reappointed Lara as the captain replacing Carl Hooper, after West Indies failed to advance beyond the first round in the recently concluded World Cup in South Africa.

"In retrospect, I think it was a good decision at the time [to give up the captaincy] and now it's a big challenge," Lara said on the West Indies Cricket Board official website. "I've had two years of introspection, two years of looking and seeing where I've gone wrong, where I can play a part in West Indies cricket. I expect a lot of support from the people and the team also."

Lara, 33, had previously led the West Indies between 1998 and 2000 before quitting after a disastrous tour of New Zealand where the team lost both Tests and all five one-day internationals.

He, then, went into self-imposed exile for four months and many wondered whether the world record holder for most runs in a Test innings (375) and first class innings (501 not out) would ever play again.

"(But) realistically, looking at the setup of our team, we have a big age gap between the youngsters and older guys in the team (and) there is not much there in terms of experience so I think it would be a dereliction in my duty if I was presented with the job...to turn it down, " Lara said. "I see my responsibilities and I want to play a part."

He also said, that if given the opportunity, he would like to continue as captain until he retired.

"I think I've got the right tools to do that, but it is whatever the board and the selectors decide that is for the benefit of West Indies cricket."

AUSTRALIA CHALLENGE

West Indies play Australia in four Tests and seven one-day internationals starting on April 10, before hosting Sri Lanka in three one-dayers and a two-Test series beginning on June 7.

Lara, who has scored 7,572 runs in 90 Tests at an average of 49.49, said he was looking forward to the challenge of playing the World Cup winners.

"There is no better opposition than Australia to start shaping our character against," he said, adding, "We've got a team that is very young and ...full of potential (but) we need to shape our characters, especially in the tough times, especially against the best team in the world."