Record-breaking Brian Lara delivered the news all bowlers feared on Friday - he intends to keep playing into his 40s.

The 37-year-old West Indies skipper has already announced he will quit one-day internationals once the World Cup has finished, but insists he still has unfinished business.

"I'm only 37 - a lot of players stretch their careers into their 40s, and I just think there's a lot of work to do to get West Indies cricket back on track," said Lara.

"I think Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath had the luxury of bowing out at the top of their game, but also of leaving a team that was the best in the world.

"That's an ideal situation, though, and unfortunately it's not the same with me. Now is not the time to talk about details such as the infrastructure of the game and funding - that will come later - but all I can do is play my part on the field."

Lara has been the backbone and inspiration for a West Indies side that has struggled in recent times.

In an international career which has spread over 16 years, he has 11,953 Test runs to his name and 34 centuries as well as the world record Test score of 400.

Now he sees his task as two-fold - spark a renaissance of West Indies cricket and to captain the first home nation to win a World Cup.

"What we have to do is create a greater number of matchwinners and spread the responsibility," Lara told Sport magazine.

"Over the years, we have depended on three or four individuals, but we need to develop a larger group of players who can pull us through to a World Cup win, because the team that wins is going to be a team of players who can get them out of trouble if they lose their core performers.

"Australia have matchwinners throughout their line-up - any team that wants to compete with Australia will have to have that strength in depth.

"I'm quietly confident we can win it, and I think the players are confident of their ability to perform at such a huge event.

"We know that the host nations haven't had a great record when it comes to winning, but we know the whole West Indian experience is very unique and we're going to play on the fact that we're accustomed to it.

"Let's just say I'm confident that we are going to have a very good World Cup."

Lara still believes that Australia, despite the world champions' recent slump, will start the seven-week long tournament as favourites.

"Australia are favourites, and understandably so, but in the one-day game that doesn't guarantee anything," he said.

"They're not invincible, as we saw with England in the recent triangular series. I don't think they're guaranteed to get any further than the semi-finals, which is still two big, big matches away from winning the final."

Lara believes England should not be underestimated as they will be buoyed by their recent tri-nations win over the Aussies.

"The fact they took something away from the Australian tour, even if it wasn't the Ashes... well, it augurs well for the World Cup," he said.

"They beat Australia in Australia, so they'll go into the World Cup with huge confidence. If Kevin Pietersen can return and Michael Vaughan is back and fully fit, England are capable of competing with and beating the very best in the world. You'd be stupid to ever write them off.

"They have players in their team capable of dismantling any team in the world - Pietersen, Flintoff, Panesar."

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)