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He said it in a very soft tone, but the serious look on the face of Brian Charles Lara confirmed his intent.

I'll be back. My career is far from over. I'll be back in the runs soon, the region's master batsman told the SUNDAY SUN yesterday evening, minutes after returning to the Caribbean from another failed team tour, this one of Sri Lanka.

Wincing occasionally and rubbing the sides of the soft cast which protects the hairline fracture of the best left elbow in Test cricket, Lara refused to think negatively about the freak accident last week with Marvan Atapattu that will keep him out of the game for at least six weeks, and a forthcoming tour of Pakistan.

It was an accident. Accidents happen in sport, so you can't think about it any other way. I don't remember much of what happened, but in the hospital I did say at one stage: Why me?

I'm over that now, because this injury is just another setback. It could have happened earlier in my career when I was doing well, but it chose to happen now, Lara said.

I know it's going to take some time, but with my approach to the game, I know I'll be back to where I was when the injury happened. I expect some stiffness soon after the cast comes off, but I already have a format in mind about how I plan to work before I can play again.

I'm focused mentally even though I'm out of the game, and this rest will also be the perfect opportunity for my hamstring to get the required rest it really needs to heal.

The Trinidadian said it was sad that another West Indies overseas tour had ended in a Test series defeat, but some positive signs were still seen, apart from his return to scintillating form.

We can't just worry about the bad things all the time. We have to take whatever we can from the good, and improve on that. That's the only way West Indies cricket can move out of this phase of losing overseas, Lara added.

He noted that each player should use his experience of losing as a measuring stick of his individual performance. I've learnt over my career it makes absolutely no sense to dwell on the past, Lara said as he sat a couple feet away from his British model girlfriend Lynnsey Ward at the Airport en route to Trinidad and Tobago.

© The Barbados Nation