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Give up on current Windies generation: Lara

West Indies great Brian Lara has urged his country’s cricket board to give up on the current generation, and start building for the next.

Dec 10, 2015, updated Dec 10, 2015
Chris Gayle is one of the West Indies' best players, but isn't available for Test cricket.

Chris Gayle is one of the West Indies' best players, but isn't available for Test cricket.

“I’d check the age of players – anybody under 25, you still have quite a bit of time and you could change their mindset around,” Lara told Fox Sports’ Inside Cricket.

“Above 25 and onwards, they’re looking at the exit door and it’s very difficult as they’re already set in their way of thinking.”

Lara also questioned the passion of country’s current players, after former Australian keeper Brad Haddin said he would like to see former limited-overs captain Dwayne Bravo and current Windies squad member Marlon Samuels step up and lead with passion.

“They don’t know West Indies cricket, they don’t have an understanding of the history, so how could they be passionate?” Lara said of the duo.

“They just want to know where they can get the next cheque to pay their bills – which is understandable.

The Windies have not won an away series against anyone other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh in the past 20 years and have lost some of their best players to lucrative Twenty20 competitions.

A number of potential West Indies stars, including Chris Gayle and Bravo, will feature in this summer’s Big Bash League as their Test team tours the country.

However it’s not the players who are most to blame in the eyes of Lara.

“I think bad governance. I think the West Indies Cricket Board has faltered over the years,” he said.

“We’ve had the same sort of thinking from the 1970s right through until now. There’s nothing new going on in West Indies cricket, especially at administrative level.

“The guys don’t trust the board anymore – they actually don’t trust the players association. So what choice do they have?”

Former Australian captain Allan Border also highlighted the large pay disparity on offer between playing international cricket and domestic leagues for the Caribbean’s best.

“The reality is you’ve got an offer of $2 million here, and $100,000 there – I mean what decision are you going to make?” Border said.

“You might not play for your country, yes, but that is just poles apart (when you look at) the different offers available now.”

– AAP

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