Lara

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

Former champion West Indies batsman Brian Lara will play for Trinidad and Tobago in the 2008 Carib Beer Series.

According to a top-ranking official of the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB), Lara will be on the T&T team for the new season but will limit his appearances to the Carib Beer Cup, the four-day format of the regional season. He will play no part in the Stanford Twenty20 cricket series, which will be played from January 26 to February 25 in Antigua.

Lara, who recently captained the Mumbai Champs to sixth place in the controversial Indian Cricket League, is due back in Trinidad from Switzerland last night.

He will meet with officials of the TTCB next week to iron out the details of his appearances, but when T&T play Guyana from January 4 at the Queen's Park Oval, Lara will be on the team.

'Give something back'

"Lara wants to give something back to T&T. The national team has been winning titles over the past few years and he wants to make sure that this (continues to) happen," a T&T official said. "He also thinks that he can make a positive contribution to the youngsters on the team. He thinks that with his vast experience, the young players only stand to benefit from his presence."

Lara retired from international cricket following the West Indies' exit at the second stage of the International Cricket Council World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year. He played 131 Tests, scoring a record 11,953 runs at an average of 52.88. He still holds the record for the highest individual Test innings of 400 not out, scored against England in 2004.

He also holds the record for the highest first class score of 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in the English County championships.