Brian Lara slams great West Indies team of old for unsporting behaviour

New Delhi: Brian Lara has not been someone to mince words and he did not hold back when he delivered the MCC Spirt of Cricket Cowdrey lecture at Lord's in London. The left-handed dasher slammed the great West Indian team of old for its improper behaviour and bringing the spirit of cricket into disrepute as he recollected some older moments on field.

Cricket can have a ring of jingoism around it but Lara’s lecture was refreshing where he looked at raising a finger inwards, least of all on one of the best Caribbean teams (1970s-80s circa) who is fondly remembered for performances not just on field but also conduct off field.

Lara was quoted to be saying by Cricinfo.com, "The highest-ranked team in the world has the responsibility to ensure that the integrity of the game is upheld every single time they play. And that the spirit of cricket is with them every time they enter the field.”

He further said, "I grew up at a time when West Indies dominated the world. For 15 years from 1980, the West Indies never lost a Test series. And just before that, Colin Croft decided he was going to take a piece out of (umpire) Fred Goodall's shoulder and ran into him during a Test Match. Michael Holding decided he was no longer a cricketer, he was a footballer and he kicked a stump. I'm sure the occurrences during that period had a big effect on cricket."

On the decline of West Indies cricket, Lara said, "People talk about the Test series we lost in 1995 as the time we began to spiral. I felt we started to spiral years before that when the great players were playing.”