Cricket: Skipper plays down Lara's no-show

West Indies' Ramnaresh Sarwan gets acclimatised during net training at Eden Park yesterday. Picture / Kenny Rodger

West Indies skipper Shiv Chanderpaul has played down the latest controversy over Brian Lara's no-show, claiming his absence from this month's one-day series could pay a dividend at next year's World Cup.

Lara's decision to play only the test section of the New Zealand tour has dismayed many and yesterday attracted a broadside from West Indian batting legend Viv Richards.

Richards, coach of the ill-fated 1999-2000 tourists, believes Lara should be with the team tonight when they open their tour with a Twenty20 match against New Zealand at Eden Park, and for the following one-day series.

"It is not right in my mind that we will have one of the best players ever [missing] when West Indies need the sort of support at this stage - going away from home, playing in New Zealand," Richards told the Trinidad and Tobago Express.

"A team that has been failing for some time needs its best player. We all know New Zealand conditions can be very, very tough.

"I would love more than anything else to see our best team in New Zealand. We have a lot of young, inexperienced players who will be on tour."

But Chanderpaul defended his former skipper at yesterday's pre-conference, saying the 36-year-old had made the best decision in terms of his longevity in the game, and the West Indians' chances at the World Cup.

"Brian's been resting, you know, he's been struggling a bit," said Chanderpaul. "We can't afford to push him too hard.

"We're trying to hold him back a little, to make sure he's right for the World Cup, and so that he can prepare properly for those games.

"Comments like this come and go, but we have to look at Brian's situation, and we know he's struggling a little, and that we can help him out."

Lara was also rested for three ODIs against Pakistan last May; coach Bennett King saying at the time that the decision was based on a need to keep the lefthander in the game for as long as possible.

"Sometimes, with people who are a little bit older, you have to manage them a little bit differently," King said then.

"[Brian] has been a great player over a long time. If we want to see him for another couple of years in the West Indies, we have to manage his short-term future correctly as well."

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said yesterday he wasn't entirely clear on the controversy surrounding Lara, but believed there was no doubt that the absence of such an iconic player would affect the team.

"I don't know where he's at, but he's arguably one of the world's best ever and to not have him available must be a blow," said Fleming.

"I'm sure the West Indies will miss him. But from our point of view he's not here, so thank goodness - at least we don't have to worry about him until next month."

Both captains agreed yesterday that they would be taking tonight's Twenty20 contest a lot more seriously than last season's showdown, but both aired doubts about the format's value at international level.

Chanderpaul clearly would have preferred two or three one-dayers against an Auckland side rather than a 20-over bash against an opponent attired in fancy dress, and Fleming was also sceptical about its worth.

"I think it's great for domestic cricket but have some reservations about it being played at the highest level; I can't really see it taking off on an international scale," he said.

"If they played it week-in, week-out like the ODI competition, I think people would become very bored with it very quickly."

TWENTY20
NZ v West Indies
Eden Park, 7pm tonight

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (c), Nathan Astle, Lou Vincent, Hamish Marshall, Scott Styris, Peter Fulton, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Jeetan Patel, James Franklin, Michael Mason, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns.

West Indies: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (c), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga, Runako Morton, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Denesh Ramdin, Jerome Taylor, Ian Bradshaw, Rawl Lewis, Fidel Edwards, Deighton Butler, Wavell Hinds.