Lara hopes clinic will boost WI cricket

Lara hopes clinic will boost WI cricket
Thursday, July 23 2015


BRIAN LARA, the legendary Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies cricketer, hopes that his ultimate batting master-class clinic at the Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair on Sunday will have lasting benefits, including boosting the fortunes of WI cricket at the Test level.

The 46-year-old multiple batting record-holder was speaking at a media conference yesterday at the Savannah Terrace, Hilton Trinidad, St Clair.

“I’ll like to do something down here that could remain here and the kids can learn from it,” was his view on the clinic, which will take place on the eve of Sunday’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final at the Oval.

The ex-national and West Indies captain said, “what I don’t want to see is guys just focussing on the shorter version of the game.

“As we can clearly see, there are lots of players now that are Test cricketers and they are not playing in the one-day versions of the game,” he stated. “The best cricketers in the world can play any form of the game. You have to have good mental strength and you have to be open to what’s around you. I believe if they are short in those areas, they are not going to succeed.

“We have players who are superstars who have never played Test cricket and players who are superstars in Test cricket who can’t play this form of the game,” Lara added. “I don’t know why. The West Indies team of the past had the best Test team and the best one-day team, like Sir Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd and Andy Roberts. I want to see that all-round cricketer that has the mental strength to do anything possible on the field.”

Asked who, in terms of the younger brigade, has impressed him, Lara replied, “I didn’t see much of the CPL because I have been travelling. But there are lots of young players (like Nicholas) Pooran who is now injured.

“I will call some guys who are not on the scene, like Adrian Barath who scored a Test hundred in his first game for the West Indies. I think (Kraigg) Brathwaite is a very good cricketer. You wouldn’t see him around the T20 version, he’s only playing Test cricket. There are quite a few youngsters.”

But he has spoke in glowing terms for WI One Day International (ODI) skipper Jason Holder.

“For a youngster thrown in the deep end as captain of the West Indies team in a World Cup at the age of 23, I think he’s got what it takes to be a true leader,” he said.

But Lara stressed, “there are some youngsters that definitely need that added help, on and off the field.”

Questioned if the master-class event will be a one-off, Lara replied, “I think I have a very close relationship with (CEO) Damien (O’Donohoe) and the CPL. It’s more based on relationship and (what’s) the outcome of it.”

He went on to state, “I think West Indies cricket needs a lot of help. Administratively, they need a lot of help and I’m willing to (assist), but again the relationship has to be built first for me to have the trust in the people that I’m working with. I’m just across the road, anybody can come and check me.”

About his thoughts on the CPL since its inception in 2013, and, by extension, its role in the future of West Indies cricket, Lara remarked, “it must have benefitted the West Indies Cricket Board in their finance department.

“As a purist, it’s really and truly down to the Test version of the game,” he continued. “And I don’t know what CPL could do for that. The best cricketers that I’ve seen in the past, they were able to play all forms of the game.

“(The youngsters) should want to play West Indies cricket,” Lara added. “Putting on those white clothes and burgundy cap still should be the most important thing for a young cricketer growing up.

“I am sure that the CPL understands that. Just the fact that they are playing cricket and they are bringing the crowds out in different islands, should create more interest in the youngsters in the grass-roots level.”