“The infrastructure is lacking in the West Indies, we take the talent and make it mainstream”
For all his dazzling skill, Lara was destined to play through the West Indies’ decline; only one player has recorded more than his 63 Test defeats. Instead of complaining about players disrespecting the maroon hat, Lara has an altogether more prosaic explanation for the struggles: the disparity in environments, which was a problem throughout his career and has become more pronounced since then.
“Well, it’s simple, always infrastructure. When you come to Australia, of course it’s a big country, they have huge investments in sports. This is something that the West Indies lack. Everyone is looking for the next superstar, whether it’s Usain Bolt or Viv Richards, to come out of nowhere and be as great as them. To do this you need a structure.
“The talent in the Caribbean is amazing. I just think we take that talent and make it pretty ordinary. In some other places, the talent may be ordinary, but then the ordinary talent turns into something special. So it really and truly is all about investing.
“Maybe 50, 60 years ago talent was the number one thing. Today is more about discipline. The technical side of the sport, understanding injuries and understanding how to do all kinds of different things, it’s a whole different ball game now. It’s a business and we haven’t caught it.
“I was amazed as soon as I went to Loughborough, it must have been the late nineties or early 21st century. They took me into a room and showed me a skeletal version of me – why they thought I was doing certain things and scoring runs. They showed me one of Curtly Ambrose and why they think he doesn’t suffer from stress fractures. I have never seen anything like this in the Caribbean.”
“The game has evolved: these guys are too good”
While Lara has been involved in the West Indies camps, his first coaching experience will be in the Indian Premier League, where he will manage Sunrisers Hyderabad this year.
“I’ve always enjoyed interacting with the younger players. But this is going to be something really new – I’m quietly excited and confident. The IPL is the league, so it’s not a bad place to start.
“I love having young players in my team and obviously with my experience, a lot of them gravitate towards me. And here I think I would play the most important role. Then you have older players that you can leave alone and work into team plans. When I was a teenager, I remember how much I wanted to hear from the greatest players. That is what I will provide.”
It promises to be an education for Harry Brook, who Sunrisers bought for £1.3m at auction.
