da bet vitoria： Brian Lara has immediately begun answering some of thequestions increasingly placed against his name prior to thecurrent tour of Sri Lanka
Tony Cozier28-Nov-2001Brian Lara has immediately begun answering some of thequestions increasingly placed against his name prior to thecurrent tour of Sri Lanka. He himself seemed unsure as towhether his dodgy right hamstring muscle was ready to takeit on.Others, influentially placed, openly wondered whether hestill had the motivation necessary to score consistently atthe highest level.Sir Everton Weekes, who did so with such effect he averaged58.5 during his glittering career, worried that he was pasthis best.Bob Simpson, the former Australian captain, predictablystirred up a hornet’s nest with an opinion that he didn’tmerit the classification of great.Lara has responded to each in word and deed and yesterdaywas elevated three places on the PriceWaterhouseCoopermonthly Test ratings from No. 6 to No. 3, only behind theprolific, but underrated Zimbabwean left-hander Andy Flowerand the Indian star Sachin Tendulkar.His comments even before the series started here have provedprophetic.On the hamstring that has bothered him, on and off, sinceJune 2000 on the tour of England: I feel very good. Myinjury’s still there, unfortunately, but it’s an injury Ican play with.I’m able to go down the wicket and use my feet and that’simportant. It’s improving a bit.On whether he still has the motivation: I’m always hungry(for runs). It may not look so to other people but I alwayswant to score runs. Hopefully, this series is going to besomething special for me.On whether he’s past his best: I’d love to average above 50in Test cricket instead of lingering on 47. Hopefully I canget it back up there and put it back up there to the top andbe up there among the big guys in world cricket.As with every one who ever played the game, greatness canonly be properly judged when Lara eventually takes his leaveto enjoy his retirement in his mansion on the hill at LadyChancellor Drive overlooking Port-of-Spain.It is yet too little, too soon even to assess whether thisis, indeed, the second coming in the life of Brian but theevidence of the two Tests here is encouraging.His hamstring has given him no more problems that theoccasional pain-killer can’t take care of. He has spent anaccumulated 13-and-a-half hours accumulating 337 runs in hisfour innings, and has fought some of the most difficult andenthralling battles of his life in the middle againstMuttiah Muralitharan, a unique and remarkable off-spinbowler.He has been noticeably relaxed and communicative off thefield, committed and focused at practice and in the middle.Captain Carl Hooper has passed through similar times ofself-doubt himself before entering the present, second phaseof his career. He is well placed to read the signs.There’s been a lot of talk about Brian being past his bestbut he’s shown people he’s still one of the best players inthe world and this is a big plus for the West Indies, hesaid. He’s worked hard, he’s been dedicated and he’s had theresults on this tour.Hooper also dismissed the view that Lara is a negativeinfluence in the team.Instead, he said, he had always been helpful and supportiveof younger players and West Indies cricket in general. Wecan all look at Brian and take a leaf out of his book, hesaid.