Lara pulls out of England tour

Lara pulls out of England tour
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

London, May 11: A `disillusioned' former West Indies captain Brian Lara has pulled out of the Caribbean team's forthcoming tour of England and is expected to announce retirment in a few weeks, media reports said here on Wednesday.

The star batsman has already missed two home Test series and a One-Day triangular series as part of a self-imposed break from cricket.

``He's become disillusioned with cricket,'' The Independent quoted an unidentified friend of the star batsman as saying. ``He prefers playing golf. He's been feeling the pressure and wants another challenge.''

It said Lara is expected to announce his retirement in a few weeks adding he wants to go into sports management and form a company with Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke.

Lara, who resigned from captaincy in February after a disastrous tour of New Zealand in which the West Indies lost both the Test and One-Day series, missed the recent home series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan, saying he needed time off from cricket.

West Indies will play five Tests against starting with the first at Edgebaston on June 15.

In 65 Tests, Lara has scored 5,573 runs at an average of 51.60.

According to The Independent, Lara received psychiatric counseling at a New Jersey clinic last month and was advised to stay away from international cricket until he rediscovered his motivation.

Lara recently said that he was hurt by doubt cast over his commitment to West Indies cricket.

``That sort of feedback of not giving your best for West Indies cricket, it does hurt sometimes because I think at the end of the day that's all I have done in my life, play for West Indies,'' Lara said.

``I am not a great businessman, I am not a great golfer, I think I am a good cricketer, and I think I want to become a great cricketer,'' said Lara.

``I would love people to understand that it does not matter what the results are like, anybody that represents the West Indies, represents it whole-heartedly, and wants to do well,'' he added.