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Lara withdraws from England tour

Brian Lara has pulled out of the West Indies squad to tour England this summer, according to a report in Britain's Independent newspaper on Thursday.

The former Windies skipper and Warwickshire star, who holds the record for the highest individual Test and first-class scores, is reported to have told his country's selectors he wants to extend his exile from the international arena.

The 31-year-old left-hander's self-imposed break from the game - he missed the home series with Zimbabwe and Pakistan - had been expected to come to an end in time for the tour, which starts in three weeks' time.

Lara, who underwent psychic counselling, had been told not to return to the Test arena until he felt the motivation to do so. The rest from the game was taken after Lara's side's disastrous display in New Zealand. He resigned the captaincy following a whitewash against the Black Caps, having lost both Tests and all five one-day internationals.

A week later he announced he would "use the time away to seek the assistance of appropriate professionals to rebuild all facets of my games so as to sustain the remainder of my cricketing career''.

Former West Indies team manager Clive Lloyd said: "It is a shame that a man with so much talent is not taking part in the game he loves.

"I am really saddened by that. I thought the little break he had would have been the sort of rest he needed to come back and show his talents.''

Asked on BBC Radio if Lara was dismayed at the Windies' demise after years of dominating the game, Lloyd said: "Brian perhaps got a bit disillusioned because the young talent was not coming through quickly and the team was not doing well.

"I don't think anyone had any indication that he wanted to give it up. I would love to see Lara back playing again - he is poetry in motion in full flow.

"He got on well with his players; there was never a particular problem there. He sets such high standards and if you don't meet them he feels disappointed.

"Brian is a lovely young man but at the moment he can't come to grips with things.''