LONDON, England, CMC – Batting maestro Brian Lara has again hinted at a comeback, just a month after talks broke down with English county Surrey over a possible contract.
“I’m thinking about it [coming out of retirement]. I would love to be a player/coach,” the Lord’s website quoted the former West Indies captain as saying.
“[I was] very close to joining Surrey this season. I was disappointed the talks broke down.
“If I have intentions of getting back and making an impression in IPL (Indian Premier League) 2011 I need to start playing now.”
Lara told CMC Sport while in Barbados last month that he had been keeping fit in case he decided on a return.
“It’s still early days. I’m playing cricket again which is good, I’m practicing which is great,” the prodigious left-hander said then.
Lara, who holds the record for the highest scores in Test and first class cricket, will make a return to the field today when he turns out for Marylebone Cricket Club in a Twenty20 match against the touring Pakistanis at Lord’s.
He will be part of a side which will be led by former India captain Sourav Ganguly and said he was looking forward to returning to one of his favourite cricket grounds in the world.
“Of course I am [looking forward to it],” said Lara, who has had several practice sessions in the nets at St John’s Wood.
“It has been a while since I played in a competitive match, surely I will be a bit rusty, but it’s great to have on the gear again.
“As I said before Lord’s is one of the few places that only have to ask. It’s history is phenomenal. Just the walk through the Long Room is good enough.”
Lara quit international cricket suddenly, following the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean three years ago, after playing 131 Tests and 299 One-Day Internationals.
The 41-year-old remains second on the all-time list of run-scorers in Tests with 11 953 runs and has remained one of the game’s most celebrated personalities.
He never played a Twenty20 International for West Indies during his career and said he was looking forward to the challenge of the game’s shortest format.
“I will have to make a slight adjustment to my game,” he said.
“In the past I liked laying a foundation for my innings even in the one-day game but the Twenty20 game there is no time for that. On Sunday though I believe I will be excused if I take my time.”