Guyana not afraid of Lara

Lara enters the Trinidad and Tobago team as a replacement for young Jason Mohammed, who is on duty with the West Indies Under-19 cricket team.

The master batsman is the only change to the team which defeated defending regional champions Jamaica last week at the Sir Frank Worrell Ground, St Augustine.

Moore told Newsday yesterday, he is looking forward to playing against a Trinidad and Tobago team with Lara in it.

The teams clash in a crucial match in the Carib Beer Series Cup at Guaracara Park, Point-a-Pierre.

Moore pointed out that his men have not played against Lara for quite a while and he was sure they will be looking forward to the clash. Lara has not represented Trinidad and Tobago for some time, but has made quite an impression with the bat recently breaking the world record to become the highest runscorer in Test cricket, overhauling the Aussie left-hander Allan Border’s total reaching 11,163 runs in 120 matches.

Moore pointed out, however, that although he was not too sure what will happen during the match when Lara is at the crease, he is hopeful his team will put on a good showing. Yesterday, the Guyanese cricketers practiced at the National Cricket Centre at Balmain, Couva but without experienced Test players captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan.

The duo is on a leadership training course in neighbouring Barbados, Moore said.

The players were expected to join the team in Trinidad last night.

According to Moore, his batsmen have performed well in their last few matches with Narsingh Deonarine and Travis Dowling hitting centuries, and half-centuries from Chanderpaul and a few others.

He expressed the hope they would stand up against the Trinidad and Tobago bowlers, who have been boosted by the spin of Dave Mohammed.

He expressed the view that right handed batsman Sarwan is also due for some runs this match, starting tomorrow at Guaracara Park.

Meanwhile, the Trinidad and Tobago manager Omar Khan said the atmosphere in the TT camp has been buzzing with the return of Lara.

However Khan said the players must still honour their roles in the team for the match. He said he found Lara was committed to the task at hand and went through his paces during a practice session on Tuesday.

According to Khan, after the training session Lara told the players it was crucial for them to fulfil their roles on the team.