Brian Lara

Melbourne: Retirements might be in vogue but West Indies batting legend Brian Lara appears in no mood to hang his boots now, saying he wants to play Test cricket for as long as he can.

The 37-year-old batsman however might consider quitting one-day cricket after the World Cup in his homeland in March-April next.

“I cut back on one-day cricket a couple of months ago because Test cricket is what I really love,” said the West Indies captain.

“Test cricket is the true test of your ability and that’s the one game I’d love to play a bit longer. (Quitting one-day cricket) is looking that way. Since taking over the captaincy again, it has had an effect on me mentally and physically,” said Lara who is holidaying in Australia.

“I’m not sure how much one-day cricket I’ll be playing after the World Cup. Hopefully we can win it and that would be a great way to go out,” said the batting ace who has scored 11,953 runs at an average of 52.88 in Tests.

“I don’t know if I’ll get to 40 but I want to play as long as I can. My enthusiasm is still there. I know I still have some Tests ahead of me — and hopefully more big innings,” he was quoted as saying in a newspaper.

His innumerable milestones notwithstanding, Lara said he still felt “unfulfilled” and was willing to give up all his records to be a part of a winning team like Australia.

“I would give up any scores, any record just to be a part of the current Australian cricket team or the West Indies team of the 1970s and 1980s,” said Lara.

Lara also talked about his frustration at leading the West Indies during a decade of decline.

“Unfortunately, my career has been through the declining years of West Indies cricket and it’s given me great sadness. There is a sense of unfulfilment,” he said.

“It’s been a great honour to achieve individual things for West Indies but it’s all about how the team does, and that concerns me more.

“It’s tremendous what this Australian team has done. It was a great effort for them to come to the West Indies in 1995 and win the series. Mark Taylor started it all and they’ve reaped the benefits of that win for the next 11 years.

“I just want to see West Indies turn that corner and I want to be instrumental in doing it. I don’t have the luxury of a Shane Warne to help us to be on top of the world. But I’d love to be able to sit back in an armchair watching a West Indian team that is as great as this Australian team.”

While Ricky Ponting has won 76 of 108 Tests, lara has won just 32 of his 130 Tests. He has won one series in seven attempts against Australia, and that was in his maiden campaign of 1992-93.

The left-hander plundered 448 runs against Pakistan, hitting two tons (122 and 216) to finish the three-Test series with an average of 89.60.

On the retirement decisions of Warne and Glenn McGrath, Lara said: “I want to speak to Shane and Glenn before I say anything publicly. But I was surprised, I didn’t see it coming. Australian cricket will miss them. Shane and Glenn are as good as anyone I have played against.” (PTI)