Caribbean Holidays

Caribbean Accommodation

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – Brian Lara made a storybook return to the West Indies team yesterday, holding the home team’s innings together witha majestic unbeaten 159 that lifted his side to 281 for six at the end of the opening day of the Digicel second Test against South Africa.

Turning down an offer to play in the drawn first Test while three other players were ruled ineligible because of a sponsorship dispute, the former captain belied nine weeks without competitive cricket and saved the Caribbean team from complete collapse on a Queen’s Park Oval pitch noted for increasingly variable bounce. < Read more>

In front of his adoring hometown fans in Trinidad yesterday, Brian Charles Lara got redemption with a glorious unbeaten hundred that dominated the opening day of the second Digicel cricket Test against South Africa at Queen’s Park Oval.

HE’S the oldest, most seasoned and indisputably most vital member of the West Indies team and captain Brian Lara deserves special treatment on all three counts, new head coach Bennett King asserted yesterday.

“I think we’ve got to be very mindful of his longevity in the game and how we manage him so that we get the best out of Brian for as long as hewants to play,” King, the Australian who is the first foreigner to fill the post, said on the team’s arrival in Melbourne for the VB Series of One-Day Internationals against Australia and Pakistan.

“That’s the key for us at the moment,” King said, noting that the 35-year-old batting superstar, a veteran of 112 Tests and 244 ODIs, was still “enjoying his cricket”.

“We’ve just got to be aware that some people need to be treated differently,” King added. “Sometimes . . . when players start maturing, you need to also be adaptable for some of their needs. And the players around them need to understand that, too.”

“He’s hit ten million cricket balls in his career as it is, whereas a 20-year-old has probably hit about 200 000, so it is not going to take Brian that long to get into pretty good shape,” King explained. < Read more >

Sir Garry shows his support while being interviewed by the Nation News

Brian Lara, Ex-Captain of the West Indies team, addressed the Barbados Cricket Association's Awards ceremony this year with the following uplifting words...

"It is time that we focus on what is necessary to return the West Indies to the day when we are ambassadors and widely admired in the world of cricket. In this millennium, we must rediscover the pride and the courage of the earlier years.

We must rediscover, not only the ability to win but also the ability to compete courageously and retain our pride in defeat. No one remembers a loser in a lop-sided contest but a brave competitor receives accolades even in defeat."

On the eve of the first Test Match in Jamaica, Vaughan interviewed by the Guyana Chronicle stated.

“Their captain, Brian Lara, is a phenomenally great player and we realise they are going to be a tough team to beat, but we just want to concentrate on our own team. "

Sir Viv Richards interviewed by the Nation News called for greater effort from players if the West Indies were to move out of the doldrums.

It reached rock bottom on Saturday, falling for 94 at the hands of England at Kensington Oval, and losing in just three days. Three weeks ago they were all out for 47 in Jamaica.

“ They have a lot of ability, they are a very good team,” Sir Garfield said.

The 67-year-old legend rejected calls that Lara should be replaced as captain even though his team could concede their first ever series whitewash at home.

This year the West Indies have been bowled out for under 100 four times in the last seven Tests against England.

It was not just a loss, it was a heavy hammering. The West Indies were blasted out for 94 – the second-lowest score ever at Kensington Oval – and fell to a massive defeat by eight wickets. It was England’s first series victory in the West Indies since 1968.

Cricket captain Brian Lara has faced immense and intense pressure and criticism from all quarters since the West Indies defeat by England in the third test at Kensington Oval.

But the captain has vowed ...

All information courtesy of the Nation News.

Contributing writers Phillip Spooner, Tony Cozier, Hayden Gill and Andi Thornhill.

Photography Brooks LaTouche Photography

Seven-month-old Kenniah King on the lap of West Indies captain Brian Lara at an autograph-signing session yesterday. The West Indies team went to Town yesterday and hundreds of fans flocked to Cave Shepherd to get the autographs of their favourite players - Lara, Chris Gayle and local boys Corey Collymore, Tino Best and Ryan Hinds. Several of the other Bajans on the West Indies team, including brothers Pedro Collins and Fidel Edwards, as well as Dwayne Smith, were passing through and also got mobbed by fans for autographs and pictures.

Compliments of the Nation News