'Unhappy' Lara looks ahead

Lara holds the world records for the highest scores in first class and Test match cricket but is determined not to make history this time.

In his first tour as captain, Lara faces the bleak prospect of becoming the first West Indian skipper in history to be on the receiving end of a 5-0 whitewash with South Africa 4-0 ahead with just one Test match left.

``No-one wants to be 4-0 down,'' he said after a 149-run defeat in the fourth Test at Newlands Wednesday. ``I'm very unhappy about the situation.''

Lara said, though, that he believed the results were not a fair reflection of his captaincy or the difference between the teams.

``Tactically there is not much that could have been done,'' he said. ``The problem has been that the batsmen have not scored enough runs.

``South Africa have done pretty well in bowling, batting and fielding but if our batsmen had done better we would not be 4-0 down in the series''.

Lara said batting was the key to Test cricket. ``In the Ashes series in Australia it has been the same. The England bowlers have done well but the batsmen didn't do so well and they lost the series.''

Responding to suggestions that the new domestic season which is about to start in the West Indies might throw up some new stars in time for the home Test series against Australia later in the season, Lara was sceptical.

``There are opportunities, particularly for opening batsmen and middle order batsmen,'' he said, ``but you have to remember that the guys here have dominated first class cricket in the West Indies yet don't seem able to adjust to Test level.

``We've got to be careful about assessing standards in West Indies cricket.'' Lara said there would be more discussions among the batsmen on the need to bat for long periods. ``We have one more Test match. We have good players here who are rated among the top ten in batting and bowling in the world. It is essential that the top order batsmen stay in for two or three sessions.''

The fifth Test starts at Centurion Park on January 15.

Only twice before have West Indies lost four successive matches in the same series and they have never been beaten 5-0.

Only six teams have achieved 5-0 whitewashes, with the West Indies on top on the last three occasions it happened, against India in 1961/62 and twice in succession against England in 1984 and 1985/86.

South African captain Hansie Cronje warned: ``There is still a lot of hard work ahead. Our bowlers are getting more tired and it will be important for everyone to arrive at Centurion Park feeling fresh if we are to win all five.''

Cronje said he did not want to say too much about the West Indian batting but revealed: ``We discussed their batters at length before the series, our bowlers have put the ball in the right places and we have held some pretty good catches.''

Both teams have injury problems ahead of the fifth Test, with South African strike bowler Allan Donald a doubtful starter because of a hamstring strain.

West Indies veterans Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose also have hamstring problems while Franklyn Rose missed the fourth Test because of a shoulder injury.

Team officials claim they do not know about the expected arrival of replacement fast bowler Reon King. Coach Malcolm Marshall admitted: ``I'm in the dark ... I only know what is going on out on the field.''

Liaison officer Doug Russell said Thursday he had no information on King.

Lara said he had not yet lost his appetite for the challenge of captaincy but admitted he had a big task ahead both as a batsman and as a leader.

The holder of the world record for the highest score in Test cricket has scored only 228 runs at an average of 28.50 against South Africa.

``I need to be as focussed as possible and try to put behind me a bad situation,'' he said.

The West Indian captain said the team's lower order had shown up the senior men while putting up a stern fight on the last day of the fourth Test, taking the side from an overnight 93 for six to a creditable 271 all out.

He said wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs, West Indies' leading batsman in the series with 231 runs at 38.50, was ``the number one find of the tour''.

Lara said he had not yet given up. ``There is one more Test, then we go into a fresh series of one-day matches against South Africa. The lower order batsmen have shown that the South African attack can be dealt with if it is done in a proper manner.''