Lara prefers thrillers to lop-sided matches

Port of Spain, May 25 (UNI) So far, all three matches in the ODI series against India have been see-saw affairs and West Indies captain Brian Lara says he prefers to win such close matches than beat an opponent by huge margins.

Lara, who inspected the Queen's Park Oval here, venue of the last two ODIs in the five-match series, was of the view that the youngsters in the side learn how to handle pressure in such close matches and he is happy to finish twice on the right side of the thrillers.

''It's been a great contest so far. We've enjoyed it. These close results are better than beating a team by a huge margin,'' Lara told reporters.

''It shows the guys what it is to play cricket under this sort of pressure and I think we're gaining more from it,'' he said.

India won the first match at Kingston in the penultimate ball, while the West Indies just about managed to beat India by one run in the second and the third match saw the hosts winning in the penultimate ball.

Lara, meanwhile, was all praise for the Warner Park where his side beat India by four wickets to a take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

''It's excellent. I'm sure that the countries playing here in the World Cup are going to enjoy it,'' Lara said.

''I was here something like 17 years ago and I had a wonderful time against a guy called (Narendra) Hirwani. It didn't look like this. It is a great stadium. The straight boundaries are a bit small, but batsmen do enjoy that,'' he added.

He also thanked the Caribbean Governments for developing grounds in the region.

''I'm really happy with the approach of the Governments throughout the Caribbean. The infrastructure that they're putting in for us the cricketers and the younger ones coming up is excellent. They've done their job.

''We've got to make sure that it works for us and they are not white elephants. I'm really proud of this particular venue,'' Lara said.

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