/ 20 April 2004

Trinidad goes wild for Lara

Trinidad welcomed West Indies captain Brian Lara home on Monday, naming him sports ambassador after he reclaimed the world record for highest total with 400 not out in last week’s final cricket Test against England.

Lara returned from Guyana along with his team, though he was not playing in the first three of seven one-day internationals in England’s tour due to an injured finger. The second and third one-dayers were being played this weekend in Port-of-Spain.

But Monday’s return belonged to the 34-year-old Lara, who was greeted at the airport by thousands of fans including Prime Minister Patrick Manning. Bands played steel-drum and calypso music, while the crowd mobbed Lara for a chance to touch him or shake his hand.

”His achievements are not just for Trinidad and Tobago, but for the entire region,” Manning said.

”When he broke the record 10 years ago, it sent shockwaves throughout the Caribbean,” he said, referring to Lara’s first record of 375, hit in 1994 also against England in Antigua. Lara lost the record briefly to Australian Matthew Hayden, who six months ago scored 380 against Zimbabwe in Perth.

Manning also announced Lara would be made an ambassador of sports for Trinidad, which gives him a diplomatic passport and allows him to represent the country on international sporting matters.

”No amount of accolades can truly say how we really feel about Lara,” Manning said. ”We want to use his achievements to inspire the youths of the nation toward greater things.”

Lara travelled with a parade and motorcade from Piarco International airport to the capital, where a rally awaited him.

Trinidad’s national carrier, BWIA, gave the cricketer Trinidadian $440 000 ($70 400) in free flights, while Manning said more gifts would be revealed later. When Lara first broke the record in 1994, he received residential land overlooking Port-of-Spain on which he built his current home, free international phone calls and thousands of dollars in BWIA flights.

”Whenever I’m playing for the West Indies, I know I have the support of Trinidad and Tobago,” Lara said.

”I also want to thank Ridley Jacobs for his role,” Lara said of his wicketkeeper teammate, who hit an unbeaten century in helping Lara to his record.

”If he was dismissed cheaply, it would have placed a lot of strain on the tail. But he stood up there with me and played a big role in all of this.”

On Tuesday, Lara will visit the mayor of Port-of-Spain and towns in central and southern Trinidad. On Wednesday, he was to participate in a charity golf tournament, which also features several members of the English cricket team.

In the north, his hometown of Cantaro said they were upgrading the local cricket and soccer facility named after Lara to meet international standards.

Doctors advised Lara to rest an injured finger on his right hand until April 24, after which he is to resume playing in the one-day series.

England won the four-test series 3-0, and also won the opening one-day match by two wickets on Sunday in Georgetown, Guyana. — Sapa-AP