`All is not lost' - Lara urges fans to remain upbeat
By Edison Jefford
Stabroek News
April 2, 2007
West Indies captain, Brian Lara yesterday said that the West Indies were totally out - played by Sri Lanka in their Super Eight match at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
West Indies lost their third straight 2007 World Cup match after winning three straight matches in the group stage of the tournament.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Lara said that he understood the disappointment but urged fans across the region to remain upbeat as the team was still in with a chance of reaching the semi - final.
"It's very disappointing, I think everyone feels the loss, we have got to stay upbeat. I know everyone is disappointed in the dressing room and around the Caribbean but we still got a job to do and hopefully we can do it with the passion that it needs to be done with," he said.
It is maybe a bit too late, however, for the West Indies team to be looking to generate passion and commitment at this stage of the International Cricket Council (ICC) 2007 Cricket World Cup (CWC) in the West Indies.
Many fans and patrons of the regions 'first sport' felt that the passion the team should have come from the team's understanding of their responsibility to ensure that they at least reach the semi-final stage.
Lara indicated that there was light at the end of the tunnel saying that what it boiled down to was the West Indies beating South Africa, England and Bangladesh in their remaining Super Eight matches.
Sri Lanka ended at 303 - 5 after Sanath Jayasuriya capitalized on the final power play. Jayasuriya entertained the packed Providence stadium with a 101- ball, 115 laced with 10 fours and four huge sixes; it was the first hundred at the newly built Guyana National Stadium.
Asked what went wrong during the West Indies innings, the captain said that they lost early wickets, which would always be a spot of bother when chasing massive totals.
"We found ourselves in early trouble, losing three wickets before our innings took any shape, and that again is signing your death papers if you do such a thing in the Caribbean," he said.
The West Indian innings never took any shape, however, as the host team plunged to 113 - run defeat that could have been worse barring Shivnarine Chanderpaul's resistance knock of 76 off 110 balls.
"It's very disappointing, I still feel that there is still a slight equation to allow us to get there (to the semi - finals) but as you know we have to depend on certain teams to pull off certain victories," Lara reiterated.
He said that the team would take the time they have until their next match to regroup and get some rest since it had been a difficult run for them in their first three matches in the Super Eights. Lara said he still felt the players were capable of raising their game to the level that was required at the World Cup. He expressed confidence in the players stating that it was only a matter of time before they produced the goods. "I think they are capable, if you look at their stats you will see that some of them have played match winning innings, its only a matter of time for some of them (in the tournament)," Lara offered.
The West Indies captain said that the World Cup was not just a normal One Day series and as a result there was a lot of pressure on the team to produce. "We are in a bad situation pertaining to cricket but we got to pull ourselves out of that hole.
The performances are really not up to scratch but that does not mean that we don't go out there at 9:30 in the morning thinking that we can win," the skipper said.
Lara defended the change at the top of the batting order, which included Dwayne Bravo opening the batting ahead of Chanderpaul when he stated that the move was to throw Sri Lankan opening left-arm swing bowler, Chaminda Vaas off - line with a left hand/right hand combination. But the move did not pay dividends as Bravo was removed early in the innings for 21.