Injured Lara gets a ‘10 days’

ST JOHN’S: West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara will miss the start of the Cable & Wireless One-Day International (ODI) series against England because of his finger injury. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced yesterday morning that Lara “will be out of competitive cricket for 10 days from today, April 15, on medical advice.” The new world record holder for the individual score in Tests, has been advised by an orthopaedic surgeon to allow 10 days for the fractured little finger on his right hand to heal properly.

The prescribed 10-day break from the game would end on April 24, the date for the first of back-to-back ODIs in his homeland Trinidad and Tobago, making his appearance in those weekend matches uncertain. Lara damaged the finger during the first Test match against England at Sabina Park in Jamaica and has been carrying the injury throughout the series. “Persistent pain however forced him to seek medical attention during the final day’s play of the fourth Test in Antigua,” the WICB said. Lara, who smashed a world record 400 not out in the Antigua Test, travelled to Guyana yesterday with the rest of the squad for the first ODI, which will be played on Sunday. Ramnaresh Sarwan is expected to lead the team in Lara’s absence.(CMC)