Lara hopeful of beating England

Brian Lara believes that West Indies can claim the Wisden Trophy this summer by beating England at home. But to do that, he says, the team has to be mentally strong.

"We lost 3-1 in England in 2000 so we know it's going to be tough. But I still think the West Indies team, this West Indies team, can beat England. We just have to be mentally strong and keep working hard." According to the Reuters report, Lara looked to the past for inspiration, and stated that the mental and physical make-up of a team was crucial.

"When we lose a match, we seem to be in a bit of disarray. We need to change that," Lara said, adding that winning overseas was "something that West Indies teams in the 1970s and 1980s were able to do, and we have to find that same thing, whether it be physical or mental."

He laid the blame for the poor performances on his batsmen, and admitted the bowlers were not given enough runs to bowl to. However, he was hopeful that the batsmen would make up for their lack of runs during the rest of the year.

Though England thumped West Indies in three of the four Tests, Lara said that the improved performance in the limited-overs series could raise their Test showings. "What is good is that most of the guys in the one-day squad play in the Test team, so maybe we can take some confidence from that. Maybe that will carry over into the Test series against Bangladesh and England."