LARA_APOLOGY_PHYSIO_24MAR1996

Sunday 24, March 1996

Lara apologises for altercation with physio

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Brian Lara has apologised for his altercation with West Indies physio Denis Waight on a flight from Bombay to London following the World Cup semifinal defeat by Australia.

"I accept some wrongdoing on my part and I wish to apologise for any embarrassment that may have been caused by the incident,`` Lara was quoted as saying in the Trinidad Guardian newspaper on Friday.

Lara was responding to a report in another paper, the Nation, which quoted eye witnesses as saying that he had hurled insults at Australian-born Waight.

Waight was reported to have written a letter of complaint to West Indies Cricket Board of Control.

"I don`t think I handled myself in the right manner, especially while wearing the West Indies blazer,`` Lara told the Guardian.

"I had had a few drinks and I might have said some things which I should not have.

"It`s not every day you find yourself five runs away from a World Cup final. Maybe I took it too seriously.``

Lara, holder of the world record test score, has been embroiled in controversy over the past year.

He was fined for breaches of discipline during the 1995 tour of England and then withdrew from the World Series tournament in Australia.

Source :: Daily News (http.//www.lanka.net)