The card at Arima Race Club yesterday afternoon was a who's who of West Indies and England cricket: the Sir Vivian Richards optional claimer; Ian Botham likewise; the Bob Willis restricted handicap, which sounds uncannily like his golf swing; Gower, Sarwan, Holding, Jacobs, Atherton; and of course Brian Lara. With another opener and a spinner they would take on the world.
This has been a remarkable week for Lara with two days of official celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago. The goodies that go with it for him include free air travel until he is in his dotage, a new sports centre and ambassadorial status so that now he is known officially as His Excellency. A more appropriate title would be hard to imagine.
The sanctimonious prattle of Ricky Ponting and other Australians has shown a total lack of appreciation of quite what Lara's world-record achievement in Antigua has meant out here. It has brought prestige not just to the individual but to a region and a team that had utterly lost confidence. But then they never have much cared what Australians think of them.
Now, though, it is time for Lara to switch back on again. The scheduling since the final Test has meant only one day's cricket, the closely contested first one-day international in Georgetown last Sunday, in almost a fortnight, giving ample opportunity for the West Indies captain to continue intensive treatment on the finger he dislocated in the first Test.
All week there has been doubt as to whether he would play in either of the back-to-back matches at Queens Park Oval over this weekend, with pessimistic statements only two days ago. But he played golf all right on Wednesday, something that did not go unnoticed by the population at large, and it would scarcely be in his interest then to shun matches in front of his home crowd.
He will play because the side need him. At Georgetown it was only a remarkable innings from Shivnarine Chanderpaul that kept West Indies in the game. If ever there was an example of the value of experience it was in this; no novice, however talented, could have batted like it.
With Lara they might have been able to put the match beyond England's last-ditch reach. But, with six games in 14 days after such a sedentary start, the series rushes into overdrive and, if West Indies do not stay in touch here, they may find the remainder of the games beyond them.
England, in the early stages of constructing the blueprint for the 2007 World Cup out here, realise they escaped by the skin of their teeth last Sunday. They have a long way to go on the evidence of the first match, with bowling off beam, fielding below acceptable standards and the batting seriously lacking the nous to chase down a moderate target.
To do so required one innings of diligence and contributions all round. Instead the only fluency came from Andrew Strauss, partnerships were scarce and too frequently two new batsmen were left at the crease together. No batter, not even Chris Read, whose late assault on the bowling took his side to the verge of victory but who then left a pair of tailenders to scramble three runs from five balls, was able to finish the job. Perhaps they should offer bonuses for batsmen left undefeated in a winning cause.
The weather in Port of Spain has been inclement for the past week, with heavy rain softening the outfield and hampering pitch preparation, something which began only last Tuesday. The reassurances are there that it will be dry but there must be residual moisture in such cir cumstances and it would be a surprise if the seam bowlers did not dominate.
To this end, unless James Anderson is brought in to replace James Kirtley, England would be less inclined to make a change to the side than they might have been on what is probably the largest playing area in the Caribbean.
The coach Duncan Fletcher is slightly bemused at the moment that there should be any debate about the make-up of his side, given that they keep winning. But, if they come unstuck today, he would find it hard to maintain that stance.
England (probable): Vaughan, Trescothick, Strauss, Flintoff, Collingwood, Blackwell, Clarke, Read, Gough, Harmison, Kirtley or Anderson.
West Indies (probable): Lara, Gayle, Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Powell, Dwayne Smith, Jacobs, Bravo, Rampaul, Dillon, Collymore.