Lara: We Must Make Transition Quickly

West Indies captain Brian Lara has urged his team to make the transition to Test cricket quickly to cope with the demands of a tough series against Pakistan.

Coming off an extended ODI campaign that included appearances in two tournament finals, Lara said met with the media in Lahore, Pakistan and talked about the plans for the upcoming three-Test series.

Following are excerpts from his responses:

It's very important for us to make the transition quickly from the white ball game to the red ball game. It's a very tough situation because we don'?t have much time to prepare for the Test matches but I'm sure that the true skills of the guys are going to come out.

I still feel that we have guys who are capable of adapting to the Test arena as quickly as possible, the likes of (Ramnaresh) Sarwan and (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul guys who are very experienced at Test cricket so we're banking on their experience for us to get into the groove very quickly.

On what he would like to see from the West Indies team in Test matches:

The main focus on WI cricket now is the younger players, trying to get the team through. My job is the mould the team into a successful team. In the one day game we are playing very good cricket but in the test arena we need to improve. This is what test cricket is all about, it's a true test of character and this is going to be a very good series.

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Let's not hide the fact, it will be an advantage but it's not the sort of advantage that you'd want, it's not the sort of advantage any opposing team would want to have. I got to know Shoaib well during the ICC Super Series in Australia and he's a very good friend of mine, a very nice person. It's an unfortunate situation so I hope things work out as quickly as possible.

On whether there were any security considerations to play in Pakistan:

We are quite happy and comfortable playing cricket in Pakistan. No one has any fears at all. The Pakistani people have been very hospitable since we?ve been here and I hope they come out to watch the cricket, not only the one dayers but also the test matches. We look forward to a wonderful stay.

Pakistan is going through a tough period both on and off the field and they would need a lot of support and cricket in general needs a lot of support so I'd love to see the public come out to support the home team but to see some good cricket.

On comparison between himself and Inzamam Ul Haq:

I do not like comparisons and especially any comparisons with myself and anyone. The best team is going to win this series not any one individual. Of course a team is made up of talented people and you can have match winners on any given day but I think I think the whole concept of team success is foremost. Pakistan also has some very classy players in the likes of Mohammed Yousuf and quite a few players who are very talented.

On Chris Gayle being a danger man:

In Chris Gayle we've got a guy who is full of confidence at this time and we hope he can take the One Day form into the test matches. We have a very good team, a good combination of batsmen, left and right, fast bowlers and spinners. It's going to be a good series and I'm looking forward to the competition.