``It is not a time to give up,'' the captain said after the fourth successive Test defeat here on Wednesday. ``We still have a lot of cricket here with another Test match and a full programme of One-day Internationals and then we have a very important series at home against Australia, not to mention the World Cup in (England) in the summer.''
Lara was describing the classic case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. ``Personally, I'm very unhappy with the situation but we've got cricket to play and I just need to be as focussed as possible to ensure than I do my job in the best possible way. I've got to try as much as possible to put behind me every bad situation.''
He accepted as ``a fair comment from the outside'' that there was the real possibility of an unprecedented 5-0 series whitewash but maintained the West Indies could still compete ``if we play good cricket''.
``I'm not saying that we're going to win the Test match but, more importantly, that we can compete with the South Africans,'' he said. ``We haven't been doing that for the past four Test matches.''
``We've got individuals here who have done well, guys averaging in the 40s and guys who are considered among the top ten players in the world but we just don't seem to be able to put scores together,'' he added. ``What we've got to stress on is to get two or three of the top order to stay there for a session, two sessions, and see what we can accumulate together.''
There is just over a week to go before the fifth and final Test starts at Centurion Park outside Pretoria. In the interim, there is a One-day match in the black township of Langa in the suburbs of Cape Town tomorrow and a three-day match against Boland at Paarl starting on Sunday.
``I still believe we can play to the best of our potential,'' he said. ``We can try our best to see if we can get everybody performing at the optimum.''
Lara once more pointed the finger of blame at the batsmen, himself included. ``Most series are decided by the batsmen and how well they do,'' he noted. ``I don't think the 4-0 advantage to South Africa is a true reflection of the two teams. Even though South Africa have batted, bowled and fielded very well, if our batting had been up to scratch the series would have been a lot closer.''
But he did cite one exception to the general criticism.
``Enough cannot be said about Ridley Jacobs who has been our No.1 find for the tour,'' he said of the wicketkeeper who topscored with an unbeaten 69 in the second innings of the Fourth Test and who has been the most consistent batsman in addition to taking 14 catches, several of them brilliant.
``He's playing his first Test series and he's just gone four Test matches and he seems to be someone who has been around for a long time,'' Lara added. ``I just wish we could have batted a little longer for him to get three-figures. He deserved it.''
Lara said that, by their batting on the final day on Wednesday, Jacobs and the fast bowlers had shown that ``the South African attack could be dealt with if you do it in the proper manner''.
But he cautioned against reading too much into performances in the forthcoming Busta Cup tournament in the West Indies as a guide to possible changes for the team.
``Sure, it's an opportunity for everyone, opening batsmen, middle-order batsmen and anybody who wants to perform well,'' he said. ``But what we must say is that we have a lot of guys here who dominate first-class cricket in the West Indies and don-t seem to be up to Test class or international standards.''
``We've got to be very careful how we talk about top performances in our first-class competition,'' he said.
Lara said the situation with injured fast bowlers Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Franklyn Rose will have to be assessed in the next few days to determine whether replacements will be necessary for the final Test.
Walsh is reportedly recovering well from the strained hamstring he sustained in the Third Test but Ambrose, who also strained a hamstring in the Fourth Test, and Rose, who damaged his bowling shoulder in the Third, are less certain of being ready in time.