Lara Dropped, er, Rested

Tue, May 17, '05

The West Indies will go into the upcoming three-match ODI series against Pakistan without Brian Lara because, according to the selectors, the champion batsman needs a "rest" ahead of the Tests.

The strange explanation for the left-hander's omission from the 13-man squad follows intense discussion in the Caribbean that Lara presence overshadows the rest of the team and leads to underwhelming team performances.

It appears the selectors are testing the theory that the team is better without Lara. Convenor of selectors Joey Carew said the selection panel "felt it was necessary to give Brian Lara a rest before the Test matches against Pakistan and thought the one-day series was the correct time."

"His absence puts a lot of additional responsibility on the team and we look forward to them taking up this challenge," Carew explained.

Lara struggled mightily in the just-concluded ODI series against South Africa, averaging a paltry 14.80 from five matches. In three Tests prior to the one-dayers, he averaged 78.60 and hit two big centuries.

It is a bit of a stretch to understand why Lara would need a rest. In the first five months of this year, Lara has only appeared in three Tests and 12 one-day matches.

Lara's omission is the only real surprise in the squad, which sees the return of Wavell Hinds and Pedro Collins.

The matches will be played in St Vincent on May 18th and in St Lucia on May 21 and 22.

ODI SQUAD FOR THREE MATCHES AGAINST PAKISTAN:

Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain)
Christopher Gayle
Xavier Marshall
Runako Morton
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Wavell Hinds
Dwayne Smith
Dwayne Bravo
Courtney Browne
Corey Collymore
Daren Powell
Pedro Collins
Ian Bradshaw