Brian Lara

“The reserve strength is very important in assessing a team's ability.”

“I loved every minute of my 17-year career, all the Test matches, the ODIs and the World Cups. The only disappointment, if you ask me, was I never won a World Cup for West Indies.”

“Every time I go out into the middle I say I have to give 100 per cent, and I do.”

“People want sport that they can go on an afternoon and watch with their kids.”

“It doesn't matter how many runs one person puts together. We want to get partnerships and get 400 runs on the board. One person can't get 400 runs on the board if there is nobody at the other end.”

“Children need sports, even if they are inclined towards academics.”

“It's a cliche that cricket is the only unifying force in the Caribbean. It is but there are a lot of other factors that keep us apart. Success in sport and war will always unite but you need to have a greater foundation and greater core.”

“Well, I think that I pretty much grew up grow up wanting to represent the West Indies.”

“I appreciate every batsman in the world for different reasons. If I want someone to tough it out in the middle, I'd pick Steve Waugh. If I want someone who I know is going to have the technique to survive, you want a player like Tendulkar.”

“I have a lot of people I respect and a lot of people I have time for - reciprocity isn't necessary.”

“It's a great achievement for a 29-year-old to play 100 Tests.”

“When you've got an opportunity to try and finish a game on a given day, you try and do that.”

“As a former cricketer you want to give something back.”

“If there's one thing I don't have, it's an insular bone.”

“A high-profile player has to toe the line and I try to lead by example. A lot of guys appreciate that, and it is an advantage to have somebody as captain whom the players feel they can look up to; somebody whose door they can knock on to talk about anything on cricket or life.”

“A guy who is walking out of his crease purposefully because he wants to take advantage is wrong.”

“MS Dhoni would know what's best for him. He has served Indian cricket very well.”

“I remember the reason why did I start my golf. We had a four day game I was playing for Trinidad against the Leeward Islands. They had in their ranks Winston Benjamin, Curtly Ambrose and Kenneth Benjamin. To add to it, the track was a green top. The four day game lasted two days, so I had two days to play golf.”

“I had to work hard... but I knew I had strong support.”

“When I was a kid, Test was the form of the game everybody wanted to watch.”