Goodnight and good luck
Brian Lara's announced his retirement two days ago but the tributes and opinions continue to flow in
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Brian Lara's announced his retirement two days ago but the tributes and opinions continue to flow in. Below is a round-up of what the West Indian papers had to say about their boy.
The Trinidad & Tobago Express reports what Lara's older brother, Mervyn Lara, and other people in his village Cantaro, Santa Cruz, feel about his retirement:
Mervyn thinks that his brother's decision to quit international cricket might help the family. "At least now people when they see me won't blame me when things go wrong. Brian did enough."
But also in the T&T Express, Garth Wattley speculates that Lara might have been given a nudge to go:
"It is understood that the West Indies selectors (Gordon Greenidge, Andy Roberts and Clyde Butts), who reportedly met with the WICB boss last week in Grenada, were of a different view and were not considering Lara for the Test and one-day tour of England next month."
The editors of Jamaica Gleaner write that Lara decided to quit at the right time. Also read the Gleaner's Vox Pop on whether it was a correct decision.
Unfortunately, Lara's genius with the bat did not translate into his captaincy, either on or off the field. Lara inherited a team that was in decline, but, wilful and self-absorbed, he lacked the skill to mould the replacement into a disciplined, coherent unit.
The Jamaica Observer editorial laments the burden that Lara has had to carry all these years - one that no other West Indies batsman since George Headley came on to the scene in the 1930s has had to bear.
Fatima College, where Lara studied, add their two-bit which can be read on windiescricket.com
Colin Croft, in his column for BBC Sport, says that Lara would have traded half of his runs simply to have been known as the successful leader that he has not been, something he craved.
Nishi Narayanan is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo