Lara: England's greatest weapon

TODAY we greet the news of Brian Lara's impending arrival on these shores as a major blow to England's hopes in the five-Test summer series against the West Indies.

Even while his team-mates are embroiled in a tough series against Pakistan in the Caribbean, Lara has decided to bring his bat (and other baggage) through Heathrow one more time.

But I've got a sneaking suspicion we may come to view Lara's last-minute inclusion as something of a bonus for England come September 4, when the final Test at The Oval comes to a close.

Lara's decision to tour comes just a day after he sent a letter to the West Indies board explaining that his mum Pearl's illness would prevent him from travelling.

Now he claims "I have put in place arrangements to handle this while on tour" and, after a break which saw him avoid Tests against Zimbabwe and Pakistan but include a visit to a psychologist in the United States, Lara the master is back.

The question we need to ask is: How do his fellow West Indian cricketers feel about all this?

Under his captaincy, the West Indies were crushed without a whimper by South Africa and New Zealand, though they did slightly better at home against the Australians.

Without him, they've bounced back with victory against Zimbabwe and they are currently giving Pakistan a run for their money in the Caribbean under the captaincy of Jimmy Adams.

The general feeling is that Adams is the man who can make the Windies great again.

I was with the Zimbabweans in Chelmsford on Thursday (you'll hear more about them over the weekend, but I can't say what right now), where they were waiting in vain for the summer monsoon to stop and allow their match against Essex to get underway.

The Zimbabweans were unstinting in their praise of Adams: "A real mate to a lot of us," said Neil Johnson, their World Cup hero; "A great guy," said coach Andy Pycroft.

Just how Adams will feel having Lara thrown into the squad at the last minute - apparently ahead of the already selected Darren Ganga - we can only guess.

Even if Adams was available for comment, I suspect he'd have to choose his words very carefully.

All we got from the West Indies tour manager Roger Skerrett yesterday was: "Brian's mother is ill, that was why he initially made himself unavailable," while chairman of selectors Michael Findlay said: "Brian has given me assurances that he is fully committed to the tour. He is prepared to get himself physically ready.

"Maybe if we had given him the necessary support, the young man would not have had so many problems. I sincerely hope we have learned our lesson."

That is putting the blame for all this squarely on the shoulders of the West Indies Cricket Board.

Not everyone would agree that Lara's problems are not of his own making. At Warwickshire, where Lara scored his record 501 not out in 1994, his batting talent was never questioned.

But his contribution in terms of dressing room harmony lacked a certain something. Lara was continually on his mobile phone, and was once pictured making a call while fielding.

He was often late for games, and once turned up to play Northampton just 15 minutes before the start. He promptly scored 197 off an attack which included one Curtly Ambrose, who is not known to be a great Lara fan.

For all his ability, Lara and captain Dermot Reeve were not what you might call the best of friends by the time the Great One returned to his mansion in Trinidad.

Will Adams, a relative novice to leadership, find it any easier than Reeve, the master politician?

Back home, the West Indies remember him for that record 375 against England and countless other great batting extravaganzas, but they can hardly forget that he retired from international cricket in 1995 before changing his mind.

Then came the tawdry pay dispute before the 1998-9 tour of South Africa, where he was stripped of the captaincy for four cricket-besmirching days.

Now Lara, 31, is back. So too are the experienced pace duo of Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, two big characters in every way.

Surprisingly Lara, one of 11 children, finds it hard to deal with the dressing room disputes and the political turmoil which surrounds the complex personalities in any major cricket tour.

Strange that. In a family of Lara's size, you'd expect the man to be adept at handling such situations. Or was Brian the Golden Son, the man whose word was law amonst the 11 siblings? Was his a family not accustomed to the word of Brian being contradicted?

He may find the 11 fellows in the dressing room on tour may not accept the voice of Big Brother Brian quite as readily this summer. Adams for may find it hard to maintain harmony when that happens.

And that's why, come September, Lara's last-minute inclusion may prove to be a positive for England.