LONDON, 25 September 2004 — Brian Lara has declared himself fit and ready to face down whatever England’s bowlers throw at him in today’s ICC Champions Trophy final. The West Indies skipper had to retire hurt in the semifinal win over Pakistan on Wednesday after being caught on the back of the neck by a sharply rising delivery from Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.
But while admitting he would be happy not to have to face Shoaib again for a while, Lara shrugged off Wednesday’s blow as part and parcel of a batsman’s life. “It has happened and it’s gone. I’m fine,” Lara said. “I was just a bit dizzy immediately afterward but it has been a couple of days since I got hit and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game.”
“There was nothing broken. I must say I’m happy I don’t have to go out and face Shoaib tomorrow but it’s a situation where you’ve got to get out and play and as a professional you’ve got to expect things like that.”
Lara can expect plenty of short stuff from an attack spearheaded by Andrew Flintoff but the West Indies skipper claims he knows what to expect from England’s star all-rounder.
“With Shoaib it was the first time I had faced him. I’d played in matches against him but never actually faced him.
I’ve played against Flintoff in quite a few Tests and One-Day matches and I knew he has to offer so my confidence will not be disturbed because of that.”
The West Indies’ run to the final has been as surprising as England’s form in the tournament given that the two teams started the month ranked, respectively, 8th and 7th in the ICC’s One-Day tables.
The two sides know each other well having played back-to-back series in the Caribbean and in England already this year.
England won seven out of eight Tests but the one-day encounters have been far tighter with West Indies winning four times, England three and one no-result.
Lara believes the Test humiliation inflicted on his team will provide an extra element of motivation at The Oval today that will balance the confidence England garnered from a comprehensive semifinal win over world champions Australia.
“England have had a tremendous summer and of course they are on a high and I think they’d expect to finish it off on a high,” Lara said.
“But we are wounded. We are a team that would love to win some sort of silverware and its a great opportunity for us and I think the guys are very hungry to come out here tomorrow and prove that.
“We have got a lot of flamboyant attacking players and the one-day game is going to suit them more. But I’ve got great belief that, in time, you are going to see us perform a lot better in the five-day game.”
New Cricket Telecast Twist Leaves Tour Under Cloud
Australia’s cricketers, who fly into India today, will not know before next week whether they will play the four-Test series due to a fresh delay in the imbroglio over TV rights.
The Supreme Court Friday put off a hearing till Monday on a petition filed by Zee Telefilms over the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decision to cancel telecast rights which the network insists were awarded to it for the next four years.
The BCCI, fearing a threat to the Australian series which begins on Oct. 6, had canceled the rights worth $308 million last week following Zee’s legal battle with pan-Asian network ESPN-Star Sports in the Bombay High Court.
Zee, however, cried foul at the BCCI decision and asked the Supreme Court to stop the cricket board from awarding the telecast rights to another channel until the Court has decided on the firm’s petition.
BCCI officials are worried that with the first Test at Bangalore less than two weeks away, any further delay by the Supreme Court in deciding the issue could scuttle the telecast of matches and lead to the series being canceled.
“If the Court says on Monday the TV rights cannot be given to anyone till Zee’s petition is decided, we will be in real trouble,” a BCCI official said. “Time ran out a long time ago to decide on a broadcaster.”
