/ Editor / 07 June 2007 /

Brian Lara has offered his help to the current West Indies touring party in an attempt to improve their batting.

The 38-year-old hung up his spikes at the end of the World Cup and the Windies are missing his quality and presence in their batting line-up.

The tourists are currently 1-0 down in the four-game series against England and after hitting 437 in the first Test at Lord's, they only managed to score 287 runs in two innings at Headingley.

Lara has since been on the phone to offer advice for Tests at Old Trafford and the Riverside, with the former Warwickshire ace hoping his countryman can turn the series around.

All-rounder Dwayne Bravo revealed: "I have been on the phone with Brian. He called me, having arrived in London.

"He's followed the cricket and is aware of everything that is going on. He still has a big interest in the team's performance."
Bravo added: "Brian has a special place in the heart of West Indian cricket and has a lot to offer still.

"Anything going wrong with our batters, whether it be Chris Gayle or Devon Smith, if he can't get hold of them, he will pass it on to me."

With Ramnaresh Sarwan forced to return home injured, Gayle is the 3.05 favourite to finish the series as the tourists' top runscorer. Shivarine Chanderpaul is the next best at 3.8 with Bravo available to back at 4.3.

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