Lara8217;s shapely girlfriend sparks row

Their stand comes in the face of a statement in the West Indies by the Cricket Board Disciplinary Committee Chairman Lennox John, who said he was dismayed to learn Lara was spending time with Ward and feared it was distracting him from his task of making runs in Australia.

acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;I do not think that the team management should tolerate such a thing,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; John reportedly said in Kingstown, St Vincent.

acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;If persons leave to go and play cricket, then that must be the objective, not activities that are sure to act as distractions.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;

An angry Harper said Lara had permission to have his girlfriend with him, and Wardacirc;euro;trade;s presence was not a problem. Adams said he also could not see a problem.

acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;This was something that was discussed before the tour started,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; he said. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;The team management did not have a problem with it. We still donacirc;euro;trade;t have a problem with it.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;

He had not had any contact with the Disciplinary Committee, he said.

acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;No exception has been made for Brian,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; Adams emphasised.acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;These are issues that are discussed with team management before partners come out. Once the decision is made, then there is no problem. Brian followed that protocol, and nobody has a problem with it. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;Other girlfriends and wives will be coming to Australia to join players over the next few weeks.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;

Asked if Lara had been singled out in Australia as a tactic to upset him and the team, Adams said: acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;I donacirc;euro;trade;t know. I donacirc;euro;trade;t know what happens inside peopleacirc;euro;trade;s heads or hearts, but over the course of his career 8230; he is a great player8230; and that attracts attention.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;

Lara has scraped together only 43 runs from his four first-class innings on tour, sparking speculation he has been spending too much time with Ward.

The cricket-mad Caribbean has been watching the West Indies team closely during the Australia tour, with local fans growing increasingly frustrated as the team stumbles from defeat to defeat, culminating in an inings thrashing in the first Test in Brisbane last weekend.