Lara admits to mental pressure
Paul Martin
The man who holds the world record for the biggest innings in Test-match history, Brian Lara of the West Indies, says he’s been left with a “huge mental scar” by his team’s away defeats, first by South Africa, then by England, and now by Australia, in the last three years.
In an end-of-year BBC interview broadcast today, Lara says it’s got progressively worse for him, as the team that once ruled the world of cricket has suffered 15 defeats in seventeen Test matches away from home.
The West Indies have lost all four Tests against the Aussies, and face another drubbing later this week.
Lara says this has damaged him not only as a player but also as a person, as he thrives on success. But he plans to bat on in Test cricket for several more years, as he’s only 31 and would like to avenge the losses to England this year, in particular. The two sides meet again in the UK in four years’ time.
Lara scored a fine 183 in the Third Test against the Aussies in the current series, but they still crashed to defeat. Lara says he wants to create a winning team before he retires, as he can't bear watching the West Indies lose from the grand-stand.
Lara believes that the West Indies, for two decades the dominant force in world cricket, need to spend much more money on building up the game back home. Their administrators had, he said, taken things for granted. He is sure the Australians will not make the same mistake, and will ensure they stay at or around the top for many years to come.
(Paul Martin is the rediff.com Southern Africa correspondent, and editor-in-chief of Sport Africa Broadcasting.)
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