Brian Lara blasts West Indies cricket board

Brian Lara. Photo / Getty

West Indian legend Brian Lara has blasted his country's cricket board and senior players on the eve of the test series against Australia.

Lara told Fox Sports' Inside Cricketit was no surprise fewer youngsters were desperate to play for the once-great West Indian side, particularly as senior players were chasing cheques in Twenty20 competitions.

Lara also made the "badly run" West Indies Cricket Board culpable suggesting there would be an upheaval because the WICB was ignoring member nations' leaders and "acting like a law unto themselves".

Lara said: "The guys don't trust the board any more. They don't even trust the players' association. I mean, what choice do they have?"

Lara did praise the WICB for the potential landmark appointment of the 24-year-old Jason Holder as captain in all formats.

"The West Indies have an opportunity with a young man like that... to build something around him. South Africa did it in about 2003 with Graeme Smith. Maybe this is an opportunity," Lara said.

"Support him, don't worry about the results too much, and see whether you can build something over the next 10 years with him."

He urged Holder to bowl first if he won the toss at Hobart on Thursday because the West Indies would find it "impossible" to make enough first innings runs to pressure the hotly favoured home side.

Meanwhile, Australia's famed former captain Allan Border sympathised with the likes of West Indians Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo for focussing on Twenty20 tournaments.

"You've got an offer of $2 million here [in IPL] and $100,000 there [from the West Indies]. I mean, what decision are you going to make? You want to play for your country, yes, but that is just poles apart," Border said.