Lara: I'm no fixer

Former West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara yesterday 'categorically denied' taking money to 'fix' any cricket match. After more than a week of charges and suggestions about alleged match fixing in regional and international media, Lara, through Saunders & Franklin, the public relations agent of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), issued to the DAILY NATION, the following unsolicited statement:

'I categorically deny taking money from a bookmaker or anyone else to under-perform. I have passed this matter to my lawyers to take appropriate action and I will be making no further comment.'

According to Saunders & Franklin, Lara made the statement in London while intransit to Australia, where the West Indies will try to wrest the Frank Worrell Trophy from the Aussies.

In that same release, team manager Ricky Skerritt said he was confident 'this matter will not disrupt the West Indies preparations for and performance on their upcoming tour'.

Meanwhile, a story from the Caribbean News Agency (CANA) yesterday described West Indies team management as being unprepared to act on the allegation.

Skerritt dismissed reports so far thus: 'Anybody can tell the police anything; let me see some evidence.'

He described the situation as being orchestrated by someone 'trying to paint cricketers all over the world with the same . . . brush', adding that in the absence of evidence he was not prepared to take the word of a cornered bookmaker over Lara's.

'I don't believe a word of it,' WICB president Pat Rousseau said of the match-fixing claim yesterday.

'Its nonsense. From talking to Brian [Lara] in the past, I'm pretty sure he's had absolutely nothing to do with this character, this bookmaker.'