BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, 21 April 2007 — West Indies captain Brian Lara announced his retirement from international cricket on Thursday, ending a record-breaking career of one of the sport’s greatest ever batsmen.
Lara, said his last match for West Indies would be today’s World Cup match against England at the Kensington Oval.
“I’ve given this extensive consideration and on Saturday I will be bidding farewell to international cricket as a player,” Lara told a news conference after West Indies beat Bangladesh by 99 runs in a Super Eights match on Thursday. “I’ve already spoken to the board and to my players.” The 37-year-old Trinidadian holds the record for the highest Test score (400 not out) and in the first-class game (501 not out). He is also the leading run scorer in Tests with 11,953 from 131 matches. In One-Day Internationals he amassed 10,387 runs from 298 games.
Lara had already announced he was quitting One-Day Internationals at the end of the World Cup but had been expected to lead the side in a Test series against England which begins in May. During the press conference, where an emotional Lara reflected on his career, he indicated that he had been frustrated as captain during the team’s disappointing World Cup campaign.
Lara is expected to be replaced by Ramnaresh Sarwan as skipper and asked if he felt that would be the right choice he said: “Whoever takes over the team, I think it is important that they get the support, what you see on the surface isn’t everything.
“You have got to get the support from the very beginning and a wholehearted support from the board, from the selectors, from the team from everyone, for the captain to feel comfortable in the position.”
