Rodriguez bats for Lara, Hall

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CANA:

FORMER West Indies manager and allrounder Willie Rodriguez believes injured star batsman Brian Lara is still needed on the regional cricket team.

Rodriguez, who played five Test matches for the West Indies, but managed the Caribbean team on tours to Australia and New Zealand between 1978-1979 was speaking on POWER 102FM's popular SPORTS UNLIMITED radio programme on Saturday.

"When Brian is fit again, he has a place on the West Indies team...in the past the players probably depended too much on Brian, but now they have to stand on their own feet and make the runs themselves," Rodriguez.

"They do not have Brian to fall back on, and as a result they are producing the right results," added Rodriguez.

"What has to happen now is that when Brian returns to the team, there has to be an effort by the management of the team to ensure that the players do not return to the old ways of this dependency on Brian, because he cannot make runs everyday and also after a while, it is hard on him," stated Rodriguez.

On the appointment of Wes Hall as the next president of the West Indies Cricket Board, Rodriguez told the radio station: "I am pleased, he is a great cricketing man and hopefully we will see greater efforts from the WICB as regards the cricketing affairs."

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