Harper springs to Lara's defence
West Indies coach Roger Harper has vigorously defended star batsman Brian Lara's right to be accompanied in Australia by a 19-year-old blonde English model.
Lara's batting slump -- he was out for 0 and 4 in the first Test in Brisbane last weekend -- has been blamed on the woman, covergirl Lynnsey Ward, named Millenium Babe by England's Daily Star newspaper.
She has been by Lara's side since the team arrived in Australia early this month. She was expected to return home before Christmas.
Harper Wednesday denied reports that other members of the squad had been refused permission to have wives and girlfiriends with them in Australia.
Harper said team policy allowed players to bring girlfriends and wives on tour provided they had permission from managers.
"As a matter of fact, as the tour progresses a number of us will have our families here," he said.
"The strange thing is that I didn't see in the press that many members of the Australian team had their families in Brisbane.
"I could not understand why Brian is being singled out, and this (the situation with Australian players) was not brought to the attention of the public.
"I think that is only fair."
Asked if he believed Lara was being targeted by the Australian media, Harper said: "I don't know. You tell me. But we are trying to focus on the game in the middle."
Ward reportedly met Lara while working as a receptionist at Durham County Cricket Club in England.
Lara, who holds world records for the highest individual Test and first-class scores, has also had to cope with the pressure of being implicated by India's Central Bureau of Investigation in match-fixing.
He has refused to comment on allegations that he took 40,000 US dollars to under-perform in two one-day games in India in 1995.
"I can't afford for any outside thing to influence my game, and I am just looking to focus on my cricket," he said when he arrived in Australia for the start of the five-Test tour.
Lara is now a pale shadow of the man who set two world records in 1994 -- the highest Test score (375 against England in Antigua) and highest first-class total (501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham).
Mail Cricket Editor
