Brian Lara backs Michael Clarke, laments state of West Indies cricket Advice for an old friend: West Indies great Brian Lara in Sydney on Monday. The first time Brian Lara met Michael Clarke was in the back of a taxi in Georgetown, Guyana, in 2003. "I asked him if he was a reporter," Lara, considered one of the greatest batsmen of all time, said. We've been close friends since then. Now, the West Indies maestro has advised Clarke to focus on Test cricket, to prolong his career in the face of a hamstring injury threatening to sideline him this summer. "He is special - and he still has a lot to offer," Lara told Fairfax Media. Hopefully he can get over it quickly. Injury is something I was lucky to not suffer too much from. I had a few knocks about the body. He's still got a lot of cricket to play. He's only 33. But he will need to fashion a career that will suit his fitness. I know he loves the longer version of the game, which isn't as strenuous as running around in a T20 or 50-over game. Hopefully, he can be fit for the World Cup. Lara and Clarke have been close friends since 2003, when Clarke was called into the Australian Test squad to replace the injured Damien Martyn. "From a very early age, I have been a big fan of Michael Clarke," Lara said. I remember him coming to the West Indies to replace a player. We were in the same taxi in Guyana going to the hotel. He is criticised at times but it goes with the territory. Winning back the Ashes last summer is something you have to respect him for. As a friend, I want to see him continue for years to come. Lara arrived in Sydney on Monday morning to play in next week's pro-am ahead of the Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club. He has a strong affinity with the city. He scored the first century of his career at the SCG - an epic 277 - during the 1992-93 season. He subsequently named his first daughter Sydney. That West Indies side, featuring the likes of Lara, Desmond Haynes, Richie Richardson and Curtly Ambrose, is a distant memory compared with the shambolic state of the game in the Caribbean. It sunk to a new low last month when the tour of India was aborted because of a pay dispute. Lara backs his country to survive a potential lawsuit worth upwards of $75 million from India's BCCI, but laments the West Indies' current standing. "We're a laughing stock at present," Lara, 45, said. It's very unfortunate. The real problem is communication. I won't point fingers. I am very biased towards players, because I was a player and I've experienced relationships in the past with the West Indies Cricket Board and I know what they're like. There is no communication and it escalates into something disastrous. Communication is something I have never experienced with the West Indies Cricket Board, as a captain and as a player. I suspect it's the same thing that's going on at the moment. As it stands, the Windies are a shadow of their former selves, not least of the days when Lara would bat and bat and bat and bat. They are eighth in the ICC Test rankings, ninth in one-day internationals. Despite this, Indian great Sachin Tendulkar earlier this month was prepared to label the West Indies a dark horse at next year's World Cup. "They will always be a dark horse," Lara said. Yes, they have the cricketers. But are they going to play as a team? It's sad where our cricket has reached. It's out in the open. The egos have to get out of the way. It's very frustrating. It's not something you envisage from a country that has brought so much joy to their people. I don't want to put my foot in my mouth and express blame. But it's really sad that we haven't come to terms with what cricket means to us. Asked if he believes it can ever be a powerhouse again, Lara said: "It might be tough to get back. Those halcyon days from the 1970s and '80s where we were dominating are over. We've got to put that into the history books. But I honestly believe we have the best talent in the world. When you look at a West Indian when he is 17, a fast bowler or batsman, and what he's capable of, I still think we have the best talent. We take very good talent and turn them into ordinary talent.