Lara Shows Good Touch

West Indies star batsman Brian Lara showed little of the expected rustiness and played doggedly Thursday as he returned to competitive cricket after four months of inactivity.

Following an illness, he stepped onto the field when North bowled first against South in the annual Gerry Gomez Classic four-day game at Queen's Park Oval.

He got involved in the match early when he took the catch to dismiss Denzil James off Mervyn Dillon's bowling, and added two other catches later in the innings as South were dismissed for 176.

Medium pacer Ricardo Paty took four wickets for 29 runs to lead the challenge, while Dwayne Bravo and Asif Jan finished with two wickets apiece.

Opener Andy Jackson blazed away in his customary aggressive fashion to post 78, inclusive of eleven boundaries and a six.

But the northerners were in early trouble against West Indies fringe player Marlon Black, who bowled with fire as he sliced out three quick wickets to leave North tottering on 37 for three at one stage.

Lara stole the show when he got a standing ovation from an appreciative crowd as he strode to the wicket. The decibel level rose to a deafening height a few moments later as he straight drove Ravi Rampaul, coming onto the front foot with effortless ease for his first boundary.

The 33-year-old Lara returned to play after being out of action since September, when he fell ill participating in the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka. The Trinidadian left-hander missed subsequent tours of India and Bangladesh. It is still unclear what illness he had.

The crowd followed Lara's shots on Thursday with enthusiasm. He struck four additional boundaries, two of them off successive deliveries from Black's bowling, which sent the festive crowd into a frenzy.

It took an equally spectacular diving catch from off-spinner Mukesh Persad, off his own bowling, to finally dismiss a now dangerous looking Lara, who made batting look the easiest it had been all day. He made 34, but achieved much more, as he spent 123 minutes at the crease, faced 78-deliveries, and struck five boundaries in his knock, which came at a critical time for North.

Lincoln Roberts is also on 34, and with Lara gone, has the added responsibility to take North as close as possible if not past the 176 scored by South.

"I'm very satisfied with my performance today. I wanted a long stay at the crease, and I got it," Lara said. "More importantly, my timing was good and I was extremely happy with that. I was even surprised that I felt as good as I did for a first time after such a long layoff."

Lara, along with pacer Mervyn Dillon and Darren Ganga, were given special permission by the West Indies Cricket Board to stay back in Trinidad to play in the four-day game before joining the pre-World Cup training camp in Antigua on Monday. The West Indies begins World Cup play against South Africa on Feb. 9.

* SOURCE: CaribUpdate.