LARA WALKS AWAY: Brian Lara trudging back to the pavilion to the delight of successful bowler Munaf Patel, plumb LBW for 11. It ended a disappointing series with the bat in which he averaged just 26.37. (Picture by Brooks LaTouche Phography.)

by HAYDN GILL in Jamaica

BRIAN LARA'S troubles with West Indies selectors date back to several years and didn't just start in the last few weeks.

But, in his own words, he used to "manoeuvre" and "manipulate things" to get his wishes.

As we await answers to why it took the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) a month to inform the captain that he was a member of the selection panel, more and more meaty revelations are coming to the fore.

After an emotional Lara dramatically announced on Sunday night that he would be revisiting his position as West Indies captain in the coming days, he further disclosed he had issues with selectors in his earlier stints as captain.

"They were always there. There might have been different selectors, but they were always there. It was always tough. I don't know what they see me as.

How to manoeuvre

"I've always had my fights. On those occasions I've been in the selection room, I knew how to manoeuvre myself and manipulate things to get what I wanted."

Since returning to the job for the start of the Digicel home series on April 29, Lara has not been part of the main selection panel and openly expressed his displeasure at not having much of a say in getting the players he wanted.

He went as far as requesting more firepower in the attack for the last two Tests against India, a request that fell on deaf ears.

As it turned out, India won the final Test to clinch their first series in the Caribbean since 1971.

"I've been able to be successful [in the past], but now, standing there and being given a team, and hearing that Dave Mohammed is not coming and you're not getting this, this is your squad, it shows that it's a situation where my hands are tied behind my back," Lara said.

"If we had a couple different faces, the series would have gone in a different direction."

Efforts by NATIONSPORT yesterday to find out from the WICB why there would have been a significant delay in informing Lara of his appointment to the selection panel were unsuccessful.

Attempts to reach key WICB officials proved futile and an email sent to the board's secretariat in Antigua did not gain a response.

* haydngill@nationnews.com