T&T Sports Minister urges Lara to reconsider decision
Guyana Chronicle
April 22, 2007
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – The Trinidad and Tobago Sports Minister Roger Boynes is urging batting great Brian Lara to reconsider his decision to quit international cricket.
Lara, of Trinidad and Tobago, made a sudden announcement Thursday evening after West Indies beat Bangladesh in their Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 Super-8 match in Barbados that he would retire from all forms of international cricket after their last World Cup match against England yesterday.
But Boynes was startled by the announcement and contacted Lara about re-evaluating his position on the matter.
“I spoke with Brian a short while ago, and I have asked Brian to reconsider,” Boynes told reporters Friday.
“I have told Brian that when he comes to Trinidad and Tobago we will sit down and we will talk,” Boynes added.
Lara declared Thursday evening that he had given “extensive consideration” to the matter and decided to quit.
The batting world record-holder had already announced he was retiring from One-day Internationals at the end of the World Cup to concentrate on prolonging his Test career, so his decision to quit altogether came as a surprise.
Boynes thinks his decision is premature as he believes the 37-year-old left-hander has more to offer to West Indies cricket.
“I know he is one man, he has tried his best and he has a role to play in the development of cricket, not only for Trinidad and Tobago but he has a role to play in the development of cricket for West Indies, and he still has a role to play in this present team,” Boynes stated.
Suggesting that he believed Lara’s decision was prompted by pressure due to the team’s weak performance at the World Cup and second-round exit after four consecutive losses, Boynes said Lara should not by himself shoulder the responsibility of the team’s collapse at CWC 2007.
“Let us have an analysis of the game, where we went wrong, and let us see on the basis of that analysis what we have to do. It is not one man’s fault. It’s everybody’s fault in terms of a stakeholder perspective,” Boynes said.
Lara is leaving cricket after a successful 17-year career.
He holds the world record for the highest Test score of 400 not out against England set three years ago in Antigua, and the highest first-class score of 501 not out against Durham 13 years ago at Edgbaston.
He has also registered a world record 11 953 runs in 131 Tests, and 10 387 runs in 298 One-day Internationals.