Lara Slams T&T Practice Facilities

In Trinidad to prepare for this weekend's one-day internationals against Australia, West Indies skipper, Brian Lara, criticised his home club's practice facilities and pitches.

"The practice facilities in Trinidad & Tobago are easily among the worst in years," said Lara, who has been in the game for 12 years.

The Queen's Park Cricket Club, home of the Oval ground, has its pitches as substandard and lacks an adequate run-up for the faster bowlers, partly due to construction on a stand.

"What we are seeing in first-class cricket out in the middle are pitches which will not breed top-class cricketers," he said.

Apart from the wicket in Antigua, which hosted the fourth and final test, all of the other regional pitches in the test and one-day series have come in for criticism for being unresponsive to fast bowlers and are not allowing batsmen to play their shots freely.

Lara is hoping for a good cricket wicket at the Oval this weekend when the West Indies need a miracle to stay in the seven-match one-day series, which Australia now leads 3-0.

"We have to come up with two wins. It's not a matter of if I think we can do it, we have to do it. We have to find the right formula to do so," he said.

The West Indies will draft in wicketkeeper, Ridley Jacobs, while the tourists, who had a light work out on Friday, will welcome back Adam Gilchrist and pacer, Brett Lee.

* From Jamaica Observer.