Brian Lara laments crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago

Former West Indies cricket captain

Brian Lara has warned that without “the skills and resources necessary to succeed, some young people will turn to crime as a means of survival,” as he lamented the upsurge in murders in Trinidad and Tobago

The country has recorded more than 200 murders since the start of this year, following the record 603 murders last year

In a statement from India where he is serving as the head coach for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Lara, 54, said he was in “complete shock and dismay” at the killings in Santa Cruz that lies between the hills of the Northern Range where he grew up, including a triple murder just last week

Lara identified one of those murdered as a childhood friend

“I was in complete shock and dismay after watching video footage in which a childhood friend got killed whilst sitting watching basketball at a local bar in Cantaro, the once sleepy village I grew up in There is more to the video I rather not mention, but it pains me to see what was once the most beautiful village with cocoa and orange estates lining its outskirts, crumble under the burden of crime and relentless violence

“Like every kid back in the day, I helped myself to all the hanging fruits available, ignoring ‘No Trespassing’ signs to the detriment of my butt whenever my dad found out, but that was as far as it got,” Lara added

He said feuds were settled years ago “ on the field of play” with guns and that while there had been some notorious persons, people in the village focused mainly on sports

“We were in awe of all the greats representing us on the international stage, like Sir Viv Richards, Sir Gordon Greenidge, Claude Noel, Hasely Crawford Culture and beauty were also creating waves, the likes of the late Bob Marley, Sparrow, the late Kitchener and, of course, our beautiful Penny Commission,” Lara said

The cricketing legend said growing up was fun and that “most of the positive news we got via transistor radios stuck to our ears as one of our people from the Atlantic Archipelago achieved greatness”

He said he could never forget the excitement when Trinidad and Tobago’s first gold Olympic medalist Hasley Crawford returned to the island, saying “it was an