BIRMINGHAM, July 29: Warwickshire cricket fans booed and jeered team captain Brian Lara off the field after another batting failure. Yet team officials are confident that the West Indian star will bounce back.Lara suffered the indignity of being blamed by his own fans for his team's exit from the NatWest Trophy one-day competition yesterday. Several Warwickshire fans at Leicestershire's Grace Road shouted abuse at the cricket superstar.Rated the world's best batsman when he signed as Warwickshire captain for the season, Lara has averaged only 22 and has twice been fined for arriving late for matches.The West Indies captain was a hero when he played for Warwickshire in 1994 and scored a world record 501 in a county championship game against Durham.But he was a villain yesterday when he was out for 14 and his team crumbled to be all out for 98 to present Leicestershire with an easy victory in the NatWest Trophy quarter-final.``I seem to be one of the most hated people here. I've failed Warwickshirethis year,'' Lara said after the quarter-final.But he said he was not going to relinquish the Warwickshire captaincy despite his poor form.``I'm not going to chuck it in. Why should I?'' he said. ``I'm the leader, the one who expects to take the brunt of the responsibility. I'm prepared to take that. I've got broad shoulders and I've been through many adverse situations before.''Warwickshire Chief Executive Dennis Amiss said he wanted Lara to retain the captaincy for the rest of the season. A former standout England batsman, Amiss said Lara's position was not under threat.``When you appoint a player such as Brian Lara, with his reputation and record, you don't expect him to go through a season having the bad run he has had,'' Amiss said today.``He needs to score runs, he is under tremendous pressure. When you lose everyone criticises.''
