A team triumph, says Lara (31 March 1999)

31 March 1999

A team triumph, says Lara

Mike King

Man of the Hour Brian Lara is pointing to fighting spirit, teamwork and self-belief as the major factors behind the West Indies' amazing revival in cricketing fortunes.

The West Indies captain saluted his team for their stunning and thrilling one-wicket victory over world champions Australia at Kensington Oval yesterday.

It was the second straight win for the team following six successive defeats.

Lara, who led by example with a breathtaking unbeaten 153, his 12th Test hundred, said at a Press conference that the fighting spirit of the West Indies in this match "showed that we want to win and we want to on a regular basis.

"You lose some matches and when you lose it becomes contagious.

"We were battered in South Africa because we kept losing Test after Test and you are going to struggle after that. You enter the field thinking it is almost impossible to win," Lara said.

"But I think the guys are now starting to believe in themselves. We have got some players around and everybody wants to win.

"After Jamaica, the team came together and we thought it was a wonderful feeling to win a Test match after so long."

Lara said that no one individual should get all the credit for yesterday's marvellous come-from-behind triumph.

"Everybody has done a great job, every individual, whether player, ex-player, coach or manager.

"Sir Viv Richards was here for three days, all the great players from Barbados - Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Garfield Sobers, all played their part.

"They all did a tremendous job in trying to get the guys who are going to represent the West Indies keyed up to perform well. I don't think any one individual could feel quite happy with being pinpointed." the captain said.

Australia dictated the pace for most of the match and Lara felt it was his sixth-wicket stand of 133 with the resilient Jimmy Adams that sparked the turnaround.

"I think the partnership with Jimmy was very vital. It was 105 for five when he joined me. I knew we needed a partnership, and that is what we spoke about in all our batting meetings.

"I thought that was the turning point. I thought he (Adams) batted pretty well. He stayed there; you can't give him enough credit," Lara said.

The 29-year-old Lara, who now has four hundreds off Australia, said the match would forever stand in his memory.

"I thought it was a tremendous effort by everyone, good teamwork, and we came out with a victory, a memorable one. We will remember this for years - forever," he said.

Lara said he never gave up, even when the West Indies slumped to 254 for eight, still 54 runs short of the target with just Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh left.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)