West Indies batsman, Brian Lara, recently concluded a spectacular Test series against Sri Lanka. Though the West Indies lost the series 3-0, the batting world record-holder returned to the international spotlight by scoring 688 runs - the second highest aggregate for a three-Test series - at an average of 114.66.
En route to becoming Man-Of-The-Series he notched three centuries and a double century and became only the fifth Test batsman to celebrate a century and double century in the same match.
In this week's Across The Board, Lara discusses his return to batting prominence, playing against Sri Lanka and his future in West Indies cricket.----bold italics
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Q: It's been over two years since we've seen such phenomenal form from you. What's been your motivation on this tour of Sri Lanka? Did you feel a need to answer those persons who questioned if you were fit enough to play?
A: "The home series against Australia in 1999 and this series against Sri Lanka were good performances by myself. While the expectations may always be high, I know that performances like these won't be achieved in every series. In between I would have preferred to achieve more consistency in my scoring. Being out of cricket for a while and being plagued with an injury since immediately after my return (to cricket) hampered that goal for the past four tours. Continuing to play even while struggling to return to full fitness has been difficult, but it has taught me a lot about myself and helped me to become tougher mentally.
A: "My motivation was no different to previous tours. I set my targets and I tried to work towards hitting them. However, on this tour, I definitely worked on a certain aspect of my technical game. I think cricket is 90 per cent mental but I saw a need to correct a technical flaw in my game. This has definitely made a difference to my posture and balance at the crease and the way in which my bat makes contact with the ball. All in all it has also helped my confidence."
Q: Did you set yourself any goals for this tour and are you, personally, satisfied with your success?
A: "My main goal was to help the team achieve success. I felt that one of the key ingredients for the team's success had to be the quality of my own contribution. I am very pleased with my own results, but that has been overshadowed by the disappointment that I share with the team over our failure to do well as a team."
Q: How would you assess the playing conditions in Sri Lanka and what was the biggest challenge for you on the field?
A: "The worrying factor for me is that the pitch conditions here are stacked in favour of batsmen. This was evident by our two first-day performances in the first and third Test matches and by the Sri Lankan batsmen throughout. Why is it worrying? Because I expected our batsmen to make better use of the conditions. The pitches here are similar to Bourda and, to a lesser extent, the Antigua Recreation Ground."
Q: You have succeeded against Muttiah Muralitheran. How would you characterise his bowling and what contributed to your success against him?
A: "In retrospect, the emphasis placed on Muttiah in our planning for this tour may have done more harm than good. It put us on the back foot even before the series commenced. We prepared for a mystery bowler and it may have hindered our natural game. For example, it was very evident that I did not read Muttiah for the first hour of my first innings in this series, but I never allowed him to get the better of me. The more time I spent in the middle the easier it became. While there is no doubt that Muttiah is a great bowler, too many of us batsmen did not stay around long enough to learn how to play him. Meanwhile, because of our obsession with Muttiah, we did not take sufficient notice of Chaminda Vaas early enough, until he destroyed us in the last Test."
Q: You enjoyed a number of productive partnerships with Ramnaresh Sarwan. What's responsible for the way you two seem to gel and what's your opinion of him and his future in West Indies cricket?
A: "I enjoyed every minute of seeing Sarwan (318 runs; 53.00 average) at the other end. He is as solid a batsman as I have seen and he has a big future ahead of him. He showed the willpower to fight in the middle where it matters most. He was able to play spin on a turning wicket and, when the ball moved in the air from the fast bowlers, he stayed in control.
"I could see that he never got the better of Muralitheran but he had the determination to survive every ball. A century eluded him again on this tour but no-one has ever deserved a century more."
Q: What are your goals for the rest of your career and how do you see yourself - as a role model - helping to mould the West Indies team for the future?
A "My main goal remains the resurgence of West Indies cricket and being a part of it. I have worked hard throughout my career and in the earlier part of it I shared in a great amount of team success. Unfortunately, in recent years, the balance has shifted and the team's success ratio has fallen below an acceptable level.
"I am concerned about the potential psychological impact that losing so often might begin to have on this present stock of young players. We therefore have to do everything we can to start winning more frequently. I see the continued need for me to score as many runs as possible and to lead by example every time I put on my West Indies cap.