BRIAN LARA TALKS TO MEDIA ON DEFEAT IN IST TEST IN PAKISTAN

Lara: Umpiring Not to Blame

Tuesday, November 14, 2006 @ 12:53:38 EST

West Indies captain Brian Lara faced the media after the team's loss to Pakistan in the first test in Lahore. Following are excerpts from his responses:

On the loss to Pakistan:

Between the two teams I think there was about 150 runs, we could have made more runs or restrict them and it would have been a much better test match, a much more interesting Test match. We've got to be very optimistic, we've got ten days of Test cricket left and we're looking forward to clawing our way back.

On the turning point in the game:

You can't expect to be bowled out on the first day of a Test match and win it. You're behind the eight ball from the very start and you're asking your bowlers to do a Herculean job to get yourself back into the game. They tried but unfortunately because of the score Pakistan was able to excel and carry on and get a big total in their first innings and put us under pressure for the remainder of the match. It (the first day) was a crucial day.

When you win the toss and bat you're thinking batting for 150 overs and we were nowhere near that. On the first day getting out for 206 was not on. It's something that no Test team wants to do winning the toss and scoring such a meager total so that in itself was tough and the conditions were still a bit tricky when the Pakistanis went to bat but maybe we didn't use it as best as we could have. Batsmen do put teams into winning positions and the bowlers have to complete it, we did not give our bowlers that cushion that they needed in terms of runs.

On the pitch:

Nothing is wrong with the pitch. The conditions on the first day did not clear as quickly as it did on the second, third and fourth days. You got clearer skies at ten o'clock and the pitch reacted accordingly. There was a little bit of juice in it, it was unexpected, I didn'’t really see it and I thought it was a pretty good pitch for batting.

Application was very important and that's what Test cricket is all about. You don't expect to go out in the middle and find something to your liking all the time, you've got to adjust, you've got to apply yourself and you've got to show that professional side.

On journalist saying the batsmen looks as though they did not want to bat long:

I won't agree with you (journalist) and say that they look like they don't want to stay, that's your opinion. I still feel that there is that one-day fever in there and we have to try to adjust as quickly as possible. It's tough, we've been playing one day cricket for the last two months, it's not an excuse but hopefully the fact that we've now played a Test match the guys will come to the realization that things got to be a bit different, we've got to apply ourselves, we've got to dig deep and show a lot more character than we showed in this test match.

The likes of Chris Gayle is an attacking player, Test match or one days, unfortunately he didn't get off in this match but I still feel that we have that professional outlook, we still want to understand that we have got to make that transition quickly and it didn't happen. It looks like if we were batting quickly but the likes of Chris Gayle, that's the way he bats. We have to play five days of cricket, we cannot come here and after four days succumb to the elements. We’ve got to go out there and think about 15 sessions and that's what it's all about. We're going to talk about it and the guys are going to try to regroup as a team and come tough on Sunday.

On if the team now finds itself under pressure being 1-0 in the series:

Yes, most definitely but I remember 18 months ago in the Caribbean, Pakistan were one down in a two Test series and got back to level that series so we've still got Test cricket to play. We have to look at the situation as is, we can’t think about the past. We've got a Test match in Multan and if we play better than the Pakistanis and we get a favourable result we'll be back in the series and that's what we're going to be looking at.

On his own contribution with the bat:

My total today wasn't really about winning. It was always tough to win the Test match being 279 runs behind. I was looking forward to playing a big innings in terms of batting for two days and getting us at least a draw. I wasn't thinking at all about winning but I've scored runs in the past and not win the Test match.

I fell short today and I'm sure (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul feels the same knowing that the team expected a lot more. Another 50 or 60 overs from us, come back tomorrow, we would have been in a position where we might have been able to squeeze the Pakistanis and maybe force a draw.

On Pakistani pacer Umar Gul:

I thought he bowled really well and filled the void by the two fast bowlers missing. This is the first time I've seen him or played against him and he has got an awareness of what he wants to do and he executes pretty well. Nothing could be taken away from (Shahid) Nazir as well, I thought he put the ball in the right areas. Pakistan on the whole played good cricket, they bowled well and they back themselves in the field and with the bat they were exceptional.

Getting Inzamam Ul Haq for naught you'd think that you're in the game but they showed a lot of character with the likes of Mohammam Yousuf, Mohammed Hafeez and Kamran Akmal. They all showed that they want to come out there and perform. It's a situation where we're playing against a tough opposition and we know that, Pakistan in Pakistan is about the toughest you can get.

On the umpiring:

I have nothing to say about the umpires. At the end of the day it's a Test match and tough decisions, that's it. It's a part of the game and you've just got to move on and hope for the best. Some days you get favourable decisions and some days you get bad decisions so as a team we are not looking in that direction at all for any sort of excuses.

We've got to understand that some introspection (is needed), we've got to understand that the game is in our hands and we've got to make use of it and we did not.

 

::  AFP - PAKISTAN