Lara will stay at Edgbaston

CRICKET

The West Indian batsman, Brian Lara, has agreed a new three-year contract with Warwickshire starting in 1996, ending six months of talks by flying in from the West Indies tour of New Zealand to complete the deal.

His agent, Jonathan Barnett, said: "Warwickshire were the only county in the country that Lara wanted to play for. Winning three trophies last season was an incredible feat, but now he wants to help them win all four competitions in a year."

It means he will replace Allan Donald as Edgbaston's overseas player, although the South African paceman, who will play for Warwickshire this season as Lara is touring England with the West Indies, may become involved in a coaching capacity.

Warwickshire's chief executive, Dennis Amiss, said: "This is a tremendous boost for the club. He was such a major influence on our trophy success last season and in the dressing-room. It was not an easy decision in the sense that Allan has been a great servant for Warwickshire. We would like two overseas players, but that is not possible."

Lara made a major impact last season in his first term in county cricket, scoring a world-record 501 in the Championship match against Durham in June, and completing 1,000 runs for the season in a record seven innings.

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