Lara not getting special treament, say Windies board

Brian Lara is not being given special treatment in an attempt to get him to tour Sri Lanka, according to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

Chairman of selectors Mike Findlay, dismissing media reports that Lara was being pampered, said: "Brian still has a future in West Indies cricket and he can still make a significant contribution to West Indies' cricket.

"Therefore, we as selectors try to explore all the possibilities for his participation," he told Caribbean news agency CANA.

"We are not bending backwards for him but if he had certain concerns, we try to work them out."

Lara has been named in West Indies' 16-man squad to tour Sri Lanka in November and December despite concerns that he has not fully recovered from a long-term hamstring injury.

Lara was forced to return home prematurely from a tour of Zimbabwe earlier this year and failed to take a full part in a one-week pre-tour training camp in Jamaica.

Findlay, however, did not specify what Lara's problems were.

"We are not going to allow history to condemn us that we hadn't given one of the best batsmen in the Caribbean and best in the world every assistance we could in sorting his problems, whether they are mental or physical," he said.

The West Indies tour to Sri Lanka appeared to be under threat following security concerns after the attacks on New York and Washington and the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan. The WICB confirmed this week, however, that the tour would go ahead.

Mail Cricket Editor