Lara: I've been Censored

Brian Lara's widely reported criticism of the West Indies selection panel has apparently landed the team captain in hot water.

"I've been sort of censored, told to curb my comments," Lara said on the eve of the third Test match against India in St Kitts. "It's a situation when me and the selectors aren't singing from the same hymn sheet and that's unfortunate," Lara said.

According to a report on Wisden Cricinfo, Lara again lamented the absense of an "out-and-out fast bowler" from the side.

"I suppose we've got to play with what we've got and it's a situation where an out-and-out fast bowler was not selected for the Test. Unfortunately a genuine spinner was also left out. We have to make do with what we have and try as much as possible to get a game out there," the West Indies captain said.

Even as he mentioned being censored, Lara appeared to be criticising the decision to drop left-arm spinner Dave Mohammed from the third Test squad. "If you got a spinner that's doing very well in our regional tournament, they should be encouraged because it adds variety to the attack. Dave Mohammed got close to 50 wickets, we've seen Omari Banks do well with both bat and ball. These guys should be included because any good combination would include a spinner," he said.

"I'm not going to pay too much mind to the fact that they're not top-class spinners. Many spinners start their careers very low key and have moved on to become very good spinners. So I'm still very optimistic about the situation."

Immediately after the second Test, Lara summoned Caribbean journalists to a private session and criticised the selection panel for ignoring his pleas for a tearaway pacer.

"I've spoken to the selectors and I feel that it's unfortunate that I?m getting a negative feedback. I think that as captain of the team, that they should have some sort of trust in that person," Lara said.

He identified Jamaica's Jermaine Lawson and Barbadian Tino Best as two bowlers he would need to put fear into the hearts of the Indian batsmen.

Since then, selection panel convenor Joey Carew said the selectors are loath to pick Lawson because of lingering questions about his bowling action.