Lara misses spinner Banks in S/Africa

DURBAN: West Indies captain Brian Lara says he misses the option injured spinner Omari Banks offered to the team. Coming off an innings defeat on Monday that sent home team South Africa into an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-match series, Lara says the absence of off-spinning all-rounder Banks hurt his team’s bowling plan. “We do miss a player like Omari Banks, he has been an integral part of our team at the beginning of the year when he first started against the Australians and against Sri Lanka, unfortunately he is not here today,” Lara told reporters after South Africa beat West Indies by an innings and 65 runs at Kingsmead.

Banks, 21, was forced to return home from the tour earlier this month — before the first Test — because of a stress fracture in his lower back. Lara conceded that the absence of Chris Gayle magnified the problem. Gayle, an opening batsman whose off-spin bowling has been improving, suffered a hamstring injury on the first day of the First Test in Johannesburg and missed the Second Test match. “A team with four front-line fast bowlers, and Chris Gayle not being on the field to give you some tight off-spin bowling, is lacking somewhere,” Lara said. Part-time leg-spinner Ramnaresh Sarwan filled the breach this past weekend, finishing with satisfying figures of two for 65 off 21 overs. “His bowling is getting better and better,” Lara said. “Sars (Sarwan) has been able to try to fill that gap. Of course as a back of the arm bowler, the best of them go for runs and he’s trying his best,” Lara said.