Brian Lara Cancer Centre opens, Lara jabs board

PORT OF SPAIN (TRINIDAD and TOBAGO): Former West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara has thrown a punch at the West Indies Cricket Board at the formal opening of a cancer centre named after him.

He commended the persons and organisations involved in the construction and management of the Brian Lara Cancer Centre for their 'teamwork, integrity and use of technology,' adding that these had 'missed' the (West Indies) the Cricket Board.

His statement underlines the fact there are some serious tensions between the Board and himself.  Several local commentators have contended that Lara was pushed out of the team by a combination of factors, since he had agreed to stay on in international Tests until he was 40 years old. He celebrated his 38th birthday on May 2. 

The Brian Lara Cancer Treatment Centre is the first of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago and the Commonwealth Caribbean. It boasts of state-of-the-art technology in cancer treatment, including linear accelerators, three-dimensional treatment planning and high precision targeted intensity modulation radiation therapy.