Lara open to a role in WICB

Brian Lara has shown interest in taking up an administrative role with the West Indies. Lara, West Indies' highest run-getter in both ODIs and Tests and one of the best batsman of his generation, said he is open to standing for the post of WICB president sometime in the future.

The former West Indies captain said that Trinidad & Tobago president, Azim Bassarath had asked him whether he would be interested in the contesting for the post. "Mr Bassarath had suggested that I should get involved and he and his board would seriously consider supporting me," Lara told the Trinidad Guardian. "I am here in Australia with most of the top administrators and players, and even they appear to be concerned at the state of our cricket. The way they speak is like they have little faith in our future. I am ready to get involved."

The WICB has come under severe criticism for its operations and Lara, who himself has had tiffs with the board during his playing days, has continuously shown his willingness to be part of the board activities. According to him, the current lack of faith in West Indies cricket is what drives him more towards taking up this responsibility.

"If you are a West Indian, and understand what cricket means to us, you have to feel that we could do a lot better than we are currently doing," Lara said. "We have had so many talented young men coming up and suddenly, they just disappear off the scene, while our cricket continues to decline. Nobody appears to care about them."

Lara has been vocal about his opinion of the WICB in the past - he had termed West Indies' pullout from the India tour last year a watershed moment. He had stressed on the importance of the understanding between the board and its players and reckoned that the failure to achieve the same reflects in the team's performance.

"There's so much cricket being played now where players can make a living outside the West Indies under different administration. Yes maybe that could be a difference, but the ultimate thing is you're playing for the West Indies, you want to play for the West Indies, you love the West Indies. And I would love one day where guys are playing for West Indies and money not being an issue because they're making so much money outside of that," Lara said.

"But that can only happen if you have the relationships with the board and all the stakeholders. There's no trust, everybody wants their piece of the pie and that's it. Unfortunately until we have better relationships, West Indies cricket is going to be very problematic."

Bassarath said the reason he approached Lara was because he saw him fit for the role. "I believe that Brian would be an ideal person to lead West Indies cricket and, as a matter of fact, I approached him a few months ago about such a possibility," he said. "But unfortunately, he is too late for us to nominate him for the elections which will take place on Saturday. The constitution of the WICB does not allow us to nominate him at this late stage, since nominations closed one month before the elections.

"The presence of someone as great as Lara on the West Indies board can give us so much credibility and stature in the eyes of the rest of the world. It's a pity he is unable to be part of this year's process."