Lara to suit up for Twenty20 charity

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Batting legend Brian Lara will play his first regional Twenty20 match when he leads a Trinidad & Tobago side against a West Indies XI in a charity match next month.

Lara, the record-holder for the highest Test and first class scores, never played a T20 International during his illustrious career for West Indies.

He said he was excited about returning to action and had already begun to work on his fitness for the event.

The match will be played at the Queen’s Park Oval and will precede the feature football match between a West Indies Players Association team and the famous “Strike Squad” side from T&T’s failed 1990 FIFA World Cup bid.

The event, dubbed “Balls of Fire”, has been organized by WIPA and the Lay Management Group (LMG), a company formed by Lara and national football captain Dwight Yorke.

Chris Gayle, who was one of the players to opt out of the series against Bangladesh, will lead the Windies side.

Money from the event will go the Pearl and Bunty Lara Foundation, WIPA’s Development Fund and a combination of other players’ charities.