Lara's exit is no comfort for England

In the final match of his controversial but unforgettable career, Lara walked on to the pitch at Kensington Oval and saw Michael Vaughan's men form a guard of honour every single one of them was proud to be part of.

Scroll down to read more:

And when he made his way back to the West Indies dressing room after being run out by Kevin Pietersen for 18 and his own team lined the stairs to pay him their tribute, not a single member of the first full house at the brand new stadium remained seated.

Statistics alone have never come close to describing the full story of what the Prince of Port-of-Spain has meant to cricket, even though the first Test 400 record he wrote into history may conceivably stand for 400 years.

The point of Lara's genius was never how many he scored, but how he scored them. Those, for example, who saw his cosmically brilliant 153 not out on this same ground in 1999 to help his side win a Test match against Australia only he could win, will probably have no idea of the number of boundaries he hit.

But they will carry around with them for ever images of the instant when, with the scores level and Australia needing one wicket to tie, he chose not to leave a pretty decent away swinger from Damien Fleming and wait for another more obvious ball to hit, nor to push it carefully for the required single,but to throw himself body and soul at the ball and send it screaming to the wall for four.

And in doing so they will connect once again with the essence and the charm of Lara. For this was the boy who just wanted to bat, who just wanted to hit the ball. And when the force was within him nobody did it better.

Laid low occasionally by the woes and burdens of captaincy, of often unrealistic expectation and of having to carry a group of players produced by a system that had been in decline for two decades, he may have been.

Hammered and hurt by criticism of his lifestyle from former West Indies greats, he certainly was. And even his most fervent admirers would admit that he may have let himself down from time to time.

But taken on its own,watching Lara's exuberance at the crease, the speed of his footwork and the mastery of his strokeplay has been one of the great experiences of the modern game.

"Your records are great," read one banner yesterday, "your memories are for ever." Exactly.

Fittingly, the prevailing emotion hereabouts following Lara's announcement that West Indies' final match of the World Cup against England would be his last, was shock rather than surprise.

Indeed, when Vaughan, on the eve of the match,was invited to pay tribute to the two men whose time was coming to an end, he seemed genuinely taken aback.

"I know Duncan's packing it in," said Vaughan. "Is someone else?"

Vaughan might have had other things on his mind but the look on his face when the news sunk in said it all. First he appeared and sounded chastened that such an historic moment had passed him by.

Then a small smile of relief spread across his face. Whatever the future holds for Vaughan, and there remains the possibility that this match was also his last in England's coloured kit, at least Lara's decision meant he would have one giant headache less to worry about when he got home to prepare for the four-Test series against West Indies, starting at Lord's on May 17.

And much as the crowd might have felt cheated that Lara's career came to such an anti-climactic end — Pietersen running him out by yards after he had been called for a non-existent single by Marlon Samuels — the celebrations of the England players echoed the feeling.

As for matters arising from Fletcher's departure, chairman of selectors David Graveney last night insisted he was not ready to quit. Graveney has been the target of criticism,led by former captain Nasser Hussain, who this week said: "I have felt for a long time that England need a different chairman of selectors."

But he confirmed his intention to carry on, saying: "To say this winter hasn't been easy is an understatement but I still enjoy doing the job and I'm happy to continue until the ECB decide otherwise."