“Vasbert Drakes, he might not have played ten Test matches but he played a number of first-class matches in the West Indies, South Africa and England and I knew that in him, we had someone who is capable of taking us past the total,” Lara said.

“He showed exactly what he was made of today,” added Lara of Drakes, who hit three fours and a six in an unbeaten knock of 27 off 47 balls.

Lara was full of praise for 20-year-old Omari Banks, the off-spinning all-rounder, who is the first cricketer from the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla to represent the West Indies in Test cricket.

“I don’t know what could be said about of this young guy. He came into this team and a lot of people questioned his ability,” Lara said.

“I remembered working with him in Trinidad on his off-spin and every time, he finished bowling off-spin, he wanted to bat and it was like after six o’clock in the evening, so I said let us go home and he just wanted to have a hit. I didn’t understand,” Lara remarked. Lara says Banks is a welcome addition to the regional team.

“I think he is a breath of fresh air. He is a tall off-spinner and he is 20 years old. I think he’s got a great future. He is showing that he wants to hang around there with the bat as well,” Lara opined.

“I think he’s got great team spirit. He is a great singer after his dad (Bankie Banks) and we need some of that. Australia’s got Brett Lee, we got Omari Banks. It is more than what happens out in the middle.

“It all shows that he is a great young man and you want someone like that to do well. You hope that against all odds that he can come out the trumps,” Lara said, noting he could be in the West Indies team for a long time.

“He did today (yesterday) with the bat and I obviously feel that deep down, that this guy has got a very, very long future and it is totally up to him to make it as great as possible,” Lara remarked.

Lara said he spoke to Australian captain Steve Waugh and Clyde Butts, the former West Indies off-spinner and both had spoken highly of Banks after he played for the Carib Beer XI in a tour against the Aussies in Guyana prior to the start of the Test series.