Was Lara dropped?

The omission of Brian Lara from the one-day squad to face Pakistan in the three-match series that begins today has fomented a new topic of debate. While the West Indies selectors stated that he had just been rested ahead of the Test series, is it possible that he may have been dropped? Joey Carew, the convenor of selectors, said in a press release: "We felt it was necessary to give Brian Lara a rest before the Test matches against Pakistan and thought the one-day series was the correct time. His absence puts a lot of additional responsibility on the team and we look forward to them taking up this challenge."

Lara played magnificently in the Test series against South Africa, stamping his authority with two centuries and a series average of 78.60. However, he failed to carry his superb form into the five match one-day series, scoring only 74 runs at 14.80. Meanwhile, Ridley Jacobs, the former West Indian wicketkeeper, recently alleged that Lara has been a disruptive force in the side, and that the players have been intimidated by his presence.

Are the selectors experimenting to see how the team performs without their star batsman? Why would the selectors want to rest Lara when the team has just been whitewashed for the first time at home in one-day internationals? One reason that can be ruled out is excessive cricket. Lara has appeared in only 12 one-day internationals [including the tsunami relief match in Melbourne], and three Tests against South Africa, in the last seven months.

The answers to these questions can only be obtained once the one-day series is over. As Pakistan, who defeated India convincingly in their recent one-day series, try to win their first series in the West Indies, they would relish the prospect of facing the opposition without their talismanic batsman. Lara's record against Pakistan is impressive: in 43 matches against them, he has piled on 1663 runs at 44.94 - above his career average of 41.94.

The series, which kicks off today in St Vincent, will also be without another dazzling performer, Shoaib Akhtar. Though the Pakistan selectors claim that he has been dropped due to his lack of match fitness, Akhtar's alleged indiscipline and a supposedly negative influence in the dressing-room could also be reasons for his omission. In fact, in his absence, Pakistan have performed exceptionally well.

The question here is whether the West Indies selectors are adopting a similar approach: will the team miss Lara? As Tony Howard, the team manager, said, "He [Lara] was not here last year against Bangladesh and we won both games, so I do not think him not being here will create much of a problem."