Lara holding out for Cup medal

Brian Lara may use the World Cup in the Caribbean as his one-day international swansong

Brian Lara is working on plans to hold an exhibition of his cricket memorabilia in the weeks after the World Cup.

The West Indies captain will throw open the doors of his £3million mansion which overlooks Trinidad's picturesque capital city, Port of Spain.

Lara paraphernalia dating his from his boyhood days in Santa Cruz - where he used coconut bats and marbles to learn the game - through to the bats he used in record-breaking innings of 501, 400 and 375 - will be among the items on display.

But among all the awards and trophies, one item is currently missing, one Lara is desperate to add to his collection - a World Cup winners' medal.

“But we have to win it first,” the 37-year-old says with a grin. “And I think that we have done well enough over the last year to suggest that we can give a good account of ourselves, if not go all the way.”

Of course, the principle obstacle in the Windies' way is Australia, but Lara points to the two victories over the world champions in five meetings in 2006.

The big hitting of Chris Gayle has been vitally important for West Indies © Getty Images

Indeed, during 2006, the West Indies enjoyed limited-overs wins against most of the top teams, with the exception of England and Sri Lanka.

“I think most people would agree that we are capable of beating any team on our day,” Lara said.

“Our problem is that we have not done it consistently enough. But we do have the players who can show up on any given day and beat any team, as we did against Australia.”

Currently in his third stint as captain, Lara failed to score a hundred in any of his 26 ODI innings last year. However, Lara is not worried.

“We played over 30 games last year and I always had the World Cup at the back of my mind,” he said.

“If you look at our performances, you will see that there was a lot of experimenting, especially with the batting.

“We needed to find a formula for the World Cup. In one match, I batted at nine, so there was a plan. I am confident that the results of those experiments would be evident during the World Cup.”

Lara has never batted lower than four in any of his 25 World Cup innings but claims the composition of the this year's team will determine his position in the batting line-up.

Dwayne Bravo could be the next big thing © Getty Images

“We have some players who are experienced and others with a lot of talent but lack the experience,” he said.

“We have to ensure that we use the experience wisely, spread it out and complement the talent. As a result, you may see me shifting down the order to six.''

If the West Indies should win the World Cup, Lara says it could signal the end of his one-day career. There would be little else to play for.

“I think it is a special occasion for us as a people here in the West Indies to show the rest of the world what we are capable of doing,” he said.

“There is so much to love about where we live, the people, our culture, the beaches. The world will see what the Caribbean man is capable of doing. It would be nice if the trophy is kept here in the West Indies.

“If that happens, it would be a wonderful way to end my one-day career. I don't see any reason why I should continue after that.”

Either way, it will not be the end of Lara in international cricket.

“I am still scoring centuries in Test cricket,'' he said. “Physically, I feel well. When my body starts to complain then I would have reason to quit altogether.

“But I still feel I have a couple more runs in me at Test level.”