Lara named in Windies squad for first game

West Indies superstar Brian Lara, under growing pressure to break his silence over match-fixing, allegations, has been selected to take the field in the tourists' opening clash of their Australian tour on Tuesday.

Lara, 31, was included on Monday in the squad to take on an Australian Cricket Board Chairman's XI in a limited-overs game at Lilac Hill Park, Caversham, near Perth.

Earlier, team assistant coach Jeffrey Dujon had said the record-breaking left-hander was no certainty for the match.

"I would like to see him get as much practice as possible but a one-day game is perhaps not ideal for him," Dujon had said.

The Windies team also includes young star batsmen 20-year old Ramnaresh Sarwan and 21-year-old Daren Ganga. Ganga will open with vice-captain Sherwin Campbell.

Young pace hopes 25-year-old Marlon Black and 20-year-old Kerry Jeremy will also have their first workouts in Australian conditions.

Lara has batted at length in the Perth nets over the past two days, but there were doubts about his fitness.

He still has some soreness -- a legacy of a hamstring problem in England. But Dujon said he was delighted Lara was prepared to turn out in the tour-opening clash.

"The more match practice he gets, the better his mental condition will be, especially if he gets a couple of hundreds behind him," Dujon said.

Lara remains the side's big batting hope, especially in a team with so little experience at the top.

Mail Cricket Editor