Angered after being hit in the ribs by a delivery which bounced awkwardly off a good length during a net session on the eve of the fourth Cable and Wireless One-Day International, Lara was forced to abort his net session.

“The practice facilities in Trinidad and Tobago are easily one of the worst practice facilities over the years,” Lara told reporters moments after storming out of the nets.

“I have been playing for 12 years and I must say that what we encountered each and every single time in Trinidad and Tobago is bordering on pathetic,” added Lara.

“Preparing for a Test match, preparing for One-Days, every single year, the pitches in the nets, have been not good for batting, not good for proper preparation and today again, we see the same,” Lara declared.

Lara later invited this writer and fellow Barbadian journalist Haydn Gill to have a first-hand look at the practice pitches, which were prepared.

To emphasise the soft nature of the surface, Lara pushed his car key into the turf and removed a piece of the soil.

“I’ve seen it for years and it’s time that we come up to scratch in these areas. Players need to prepare and prepare properly,” Lara charged.

He also admonished regional cricket officials for neglecting practice facilities.

“Trinidad and Tobago very eager to host matches for the World Cup and stuff like that but I am almost sure that they understand that preparation is also of vital importance for each and every single team and we hope that improves as soon as possible.

“It is visible to see that each and every single year, teams forego practice sessions, batsmen forego their little knocks, sometimes going on the concrete strips,” Lara said.

Lara stopped short of saying if he will make an official complaint to the West Indies Cricket Board.

“I don’t think it is anything that has to be done officially. It’s there to be seen, each and every single time you go to practice and it is bordering on ridiculous.

“You go to places like Australia where the pitches and the nets are better than the ones in the middle for you to prepare on and we got to get to that standard,” Lara revealed.

“Can you imagine if this is the state of it during Test matches and One-Day Internationals, what is the state of it during first-class practice sessions.

It is almost impossible to bat on so it is something that you really got to look at,” added Lara.

“I have played six or seven years in St Vincent and I think I have practised once. Everybody seem to be concerned about how many people we can get into the ground or the sponsors or how the pitch out in the middle plays, nobody is concerned about what’s happening before the match and the preparation of the players.

“These are things that are supposed to be foregone conclusions not something that you really got to be talking about and worrying about too much,” Lara contended.

Lara, who holds the world record for the highest Test score (375) and highest first-class score (501 not out), agreed that the present infrastructure at cricket grounds in the Caribbean is not conducive to producing top-class cricketers.

“I think what we see in first-class cricket, the pitches we see out there in the middle, we are not breeding top-class cricketers. We are catering for average cricketers and that’s what we are going to get. We need to ensure that we have the facilities there for us to prepare ourselves properly,” Lara remarked.

“The Academies, the practice pitches, whatever it takes. The Stanford Cricket Ground in Antigua is the only bright spot I’ve seen in a really long time for us.

“We used that as a practice facility for the World Cup and we used it before the Test match. I won’t say that is the reason why we performed well in the Test match but it definitely gives us the avenue to have good sessions and be able to practise in good areas,” Lara asserted.

“We are not producing great fast bowlers. Why? Because the pitches that we have in first-class cricket have been definitely not encouraging guys to go out there and perform well and want to bowl fast," Lara said.