Lara bowed out after a disappointing World Cup

Lara, 38, retired following the World Cup, during which his side struggled to make an impression on home soil.

They have won only one of their last 25 Tests but Lara is confident they can improve on that under his successor.

"[New skipper] Ramnaresh Sarwan has a tough task on his hands but my feeling is there is somebody that is going to rise to the top," he insisted.

"We've got good players. I still believe West Indies has the best Under-15, Under-19 talent, but it's just the infrastructure doesn't go hand in hand with that and international cricket.

606: DEBATE It is plausible that West Indies get something from this series MM

"It's not about the cricketers, it's about the infrastructure. That's where the problem lies."

The left-hander retired with almost 12,000 Test runs to his name and admits his achievements may, perversely, have put more pressure on his struggling team-mates.

"I've been there for quite some time and maybe the disparity between my achievements and how the other guys were looked upon was a problem," he explained.

"My expectation is that the team raises a bit and rally round Ramnaresh Sarwan. You don't need a group of superstars, you need a team working together to bring you better results."

Lara expects a revival under new skipper Sarwan

Lara was speaking at Lord's to launch an exhibition celebrating his illustrious career at the MCC museum.

The legendary left-hander never managed a century in a Test at the venue, which would have got his name on the famous honours board.

"My intention was to score a hundred and get the bat to Lord's for the exhibition but Sachin Tendulkar isn't here, Shane Warne isn't here and you can't deprive any of these guys of their greatness, they are awesome," he added.