West Indies Domestic: Two score with Lara

Port-Of-Spain - Philo Wallace and Mervyn Dillon were the unquestioned top performers here over the weekend, but there was plenty of young talent emerging in the memorable match between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.

'I think you have got five or six good young players in both teams,' West Indies captain Brian Lara said after his Trinidad and Tobago were beaten by one run in a nerve-wracking finale at the Queen's Park Oval.

'I don't think they are Test cricketers as yet, but if the present crop of players can get it right, it will make things easier for them.'

Lara identified two teenagers, Barbadian batsman Ryan Hinds and Trinidadian off-spinner Rodney Sooklal, as two of the most promising.

'I'm very impressed with Hinds. It's the first time I've seen him and if he makes that transition from youth cricket into senior cricket, I think he is going to do well,' Lara said of the West Indies youth team captain.

Hinds was the MVP in last season's Nortel youth championships.

'One of the main things will be the mental capacity and how he is able to handle that sort of rise to first-class and international level, but I think he has got a bright future.'

The left-handed Hinds, in his first match of the season since returning from the Youth World Cup in Sri Lanka, batted with maturity in both innings before he was out for 32 and 25.

Sooklal, who also went to Sri Lanka, was on his first appearance in first-class cricket and bowled commendably throughout.

Belatedly brought into the attack in the first innings, he took the important wicket of Hendy Bryan and polished off the lower order to finish with three for 27 from ten overs. He took one for 33 in 17 overs during the second innings.

'It was the first time that I actually saw him playing and I was totally impressed with the way he approached it. He was very mature,' Lara said of the 18-year-old who has had a meteoric rise here over the last two years.

Lara said players like Hinds and Sooklal now needed to get the mental toughness to prepare for a higher level.

'The natural ability is there. You can see it,' he said. 'They need to get themselves ready for international cricket but I suppose, first of all, they have got to perform at first-class level and try to dominate this level before they get onto the international stage.'