Saint John's [Antigua and Barbuda], January 27 (ANI): Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced that former West Indies Captain and batting legend, Brian Lara, has agreed to assist CWI as a Performance Mentor, working across all international Teams and with input into the West Indies Academy.

Lara's new role will be to support the various head coaches in providing players with tactical advice and improving their game sense, as well as working closely with the Director of Cricket on ICC World Cup Tournament strategic planning.

Jimmy Adams, CWI Director of Cricket said, "I am really looking forward to Brian making a significant contribution to our cricket system by providing invaluable guidance and advice to our players and coaches. We are confident that Brian will help improve our high-performance mindset and strategic culture, which will bring us more success across all formats. Everyone is excited to have Brian involved in supporting our players."Brian Lara said, "Having spent time with the players and coaches in Australia and in discussions with CWI, I believe that I can help the players with their mental approach to the game and their tactics to be more successful. I'm looking forward to joining the group in Zimbabwe and the opportunity to work with other West Indies teams later in the year."Lara's first assignment will be with the West Indies Test squad. He has joined the Test squad in Zimbabwe where he will assist in the team's preparations ahead of the first Test Match in Bulawayo on 4 February 2023.

Following their elimination from the T20 World Cup in the opening round, West Indies played their last Test series in Australia last month, in which they were whitewashed 2-0. Later, in November, Nicholas Pooran resigned as white-ball captain.

Lara was a member of the review committee that CWI set up to investigate West Indies' subpar performance at the T20 World Cup.

Lara joined various teams with less than ten months until the ODI World Cup in India and about eighteen months until the T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean the following year, however, CWI did not specify for how long Lara will work with each team going forward. (ANI)