As Warwickshire left the field after being beaten by Leicestershire by eight wickets, one follower approached Lara and shouted: You are getting £200 000 a year and I have taken a day off work to watch this rubbish?

Warwickshire were bowled out for 98, their lowest total in the NatWest tournament, Lara contributing 14 before he was caught at the wicket attempting a pull shot.

It was the second time in a few days that the county, and West Indies, captain and his team had been jeered by the crowd. Supporters vented their feelings following the loss to Essex in the county championship on Saturday.

Warwickshire, pre-season favourites for the four titles at stake, now have no realistic chance of any.

They won three in Laras previous season in 1994 when the left-hander set his world record 501 not out against Durham and scored six centuries in his first seven innings. Appointed captain this season, he is yet to score a first-class hundred and is averaging 30 in all matches.

But Lara emphasised he has no intention of quitting as Warwickshire skipper.

I would be mad to chuck it in, he told reporters after the defeat at Leicester. I still want to play cricket. All the players are very

embarrassed and so am I but, left up to me, I will certainly see it through.

He said the latest loss was a tremendous blow to me, comparing it to the West Indies loss of the Frank Worrell Trophy to Australia in the Caribbean in 1995.

Warwickshires chief executive, Dennis Amiss, the former England opening batsman, said the county had no intention of removing Lara from the captaincy. But Birmingham newspapers have reported there is a growing opinion among members that the West Indian should go.

Lara responded to the barracking philosophically.

This is nothing new, he noted. Ive experienced it all over the world, even in my own country.

I know Warwickshire supporters are unused to losing games but it is not that the players arent giving of our best.

Ive failed Warwickshire this season but I want the supporters to realise that there is no team in the world that Ive done better for than Warwickshire.

That period in 1994 was the greatest of my life and I did it for Warwickshire, not for the West Indies, not for Trinidad and Tobago and not for my club side, he said.

I have played three more months of cricket for Warwickshire since then and now I seem to be one of the most hated people here.

Warwickshire would have been bowled out even cheaper in the quarter-final but for an extraordinary 13-ball first over from fellow Trinidadian Phil Simmons. It included five wides and two no-balls and helped boost extras to the second-highest score.

In other NatWest quarter-final matches, Hampshire beat Middlesex by 144 runs, Lancashire defeated Nottinghamshire by six wickets and Derbyshire overcame Surrey by five wickets.

In the semifinals, Hampshire have been drawn against Lancashire and Derbyshire against Leicestershire.