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Injured Lara out

Another unfortunate chapter was added to Brian Lara's ill-fated tour of South Africa yesterday-and to his team's hopes of a consolation triumph in the One-day International series.

The West Indies captain was ruled out of today's fourth ODI after an x-ray examination revealed that the blow he took while batting in the third match in Durban on Wednesday night had chipped a bone in his right forearm, just above the wrist.

``It's painful, especially with the impact of ball on bat when he makes a stroke,'' manager Clive Lloyd said. ``We'll just have to wait and see how he comes on before we can say whether he'll be able to play in the remaining matches.''

The last three ODIs are in Cape Town on Tuesday, Blomfontein on Friday, both day/night, and Centurion tomorrow week.

Lara was struck by a ball from the lively Jacques Kallis during South Africa's hostile bodyline barrage that unsettled the West Indies batsmen, prompted a top-order collapse and effectively secured victory by 55 runs for a 2-1 series lead.

Just off the mark with a single at the time, he was not wearing an arm-guard but fitted one after team physio Dennis Waight attended to the injury in the middle. He batted on for another 40 balls before he was caught by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher off his rival captain, Hansie Cronje, for 32.

Lara's returns throughout the tour have been well below his overall standards, as he averaged 31 in the Tests and was dismissed for a first-ball 0, 3 and 32 in the three ODIs so far. But he remains the batsman most feared by the opposition and still has the ability to produce a match-winning innings.

His absence will be sorely felt especially since his replacement will be either 20-year-old Daren Ganga, who would be making his debut at this level, or Philo Wallace, who was dropped after the second match following a sequence of scores in Tests and ODIs of 1, 8, 0, 4, 4, 3 and 0. Vice-captain Carl Hooper will lead in his place and there is no other change to the XI.

It is the first match-Test or ODI-Lara has missed since he skipped the last preliminary round encounter of the World Series tournament against Pakistan in Australia two years ago when the West Indies had already qualified for the final.

His forced withdrawal comes at a time when new intensity has been added to the contest in the wake of Wednesday night's match.

The South Africans were privately irritated over Lara's successful appeal for handled the ball against Daryl Cullinan, even though they have publicly acknowledged it was justifiable, and the West Indies are upset by what they saw as South Africa's excessive short-pitched bowling.

Lloyd raised the issue with ICC match referee Javed Burki of Pakistan yesterday and said Burki agreed with his concerns that it would spoil the series if such tactics persisted. But Cronje and United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) officials have scoffed at the comments.

``They came at us hard and we hit back as hard as we could,'' Cronje said, acknowledging that he had ordered Kallis, Steve Elworthy and Lance Klusener to dig the ball in short on a pitch freshened by the dew under the floodlights.

``We reckoned if we could get a couple of quick wickets we would be right back in the game,'' he said. ``As for being intimatory, that's nonsense. The umpires are there to no-ball any delivery they deem illegitimate.''

He claimed his players weren't upset by the manner of Cullinan's dismissal, adding: ``That's all part of the game, but so too are fast rising deliveries if you can get them to the right height.''

UCBSA director of umpiring Brian Basson said his office had received calls from some irate West Indian supporters protesting the South African bowling.

``I had one guy who was furious, saying it was unfair and intimidatory,'' Basson said. ``All I said to him was that he should cast his mind back to when Clive Lloyd was captain of the West Indies. I just told him to remember who invented short-pitched bowling.''

The pitch for the Second Test, on which the West Indies were bowled out for 121 and 141 and beaten by 178 runs in three days, was a fast bowler's delight. If it's similar for today's match it would add to fuel to the fire but it is expected to be far easier for batting following two weeks of hot, sunny weather.

Teams:

West Indies: Carl Hooper (Capt), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Philo Wallace or Daren Ganga, Junior Murray, Keith Arthurton, Keith Semple, Ridley Jacobs, Nixon McLean, Neil McGarrell, Curtly Ambrose, Reon King.

South Africa (likely): Hansie Cronje (Capt), Daryl Cullinan, Herschelle Gibbs, Lance Klusener, Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Dale Benkenstein, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Pat Symcox and Steve Elworthy.