West Indies' troubled World Cup build-up suffered another blow on Sunday when skipper Brian Lara faced rumours that members of his team had been partying until the early hours on the eve of their nine-wicket thrashing at the hands of India.

"I don't know anything about it," said Lara, when quizzed about the allegations.

"I doubt that with the sort of importance of this tournament that that would have been the case.

"I'm sure that if the management, Clive Lloyd or (coach) Bennett King, knows about it they would definitely filter it down to myself.

"I am not going to go there, but something such as that is not what we want to portray. The guys know and they are very professional in understanding what is necessary to perform the next day," he was quoted as saying by the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper.

On Friday, West Indies slumped to 85 all out in just 25.5 overs of their warm-up match against India.

After the game, reports emerged that some players were seen at a Montego Bay nightclub until three o'clock in the morning.

Lara, who will retire from one-day cricket after the World Cup, said he was confident that his side will recover from their India mauling.

"We will be working to get the guys to understand their particular roles and to understand their strengths," Lara said.

"A lot of guys tend not to play the way they are accustomed to play because of the situation. What they need to do is to understand their role and be as professional as possible.

"You are talking about a team that has beaten everyone else (over the past two years). We got to the final in Malaysia, won the ICC Champions Trophy two years ago, made the final again last year, so you can't get on the team too hard," he said.

"We have played very good cricket for the sort of situations that we have been in.

"I am quite confident that the team is going to bounce back, especially in the competitive stage when the tournament starts on Tuesday," Lara said ahead of the match against Pakistan.

"You are going to see a performance that as a West Indian you would be proud of."

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)