PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) - Trinidad bestowed West Indies captain Brian Lara with a diplomatic passport Friday several months after naming him sports ambassador for the Caribbean country.
Lara, who became the fastest player to reach 10,000 runs during an August 15 Test against England, promised to use his privilege to promote his native Trinidad and Tobago throughout the world."It's a great honour," Lara said after receiving the passport from acting Prime Minister Joan Yuille Williams. "I feel very privileged and will continue to serve my country and West Indies in the way they should be."
Prime Minister Patrick Manning is in Cuba recovering from surgery to have a pacemaker installed.
Lara later gave 10 checks for Trinidad $10,000 - in honour of his milestone last week - to 10 private charities. The money came from the Pearl and Bunty foundation that Lara has set up for charity.
"This is something I planned long before the tour of England. I just didn't know it would have taken me so long to achieve the mark," the 35 year-old left hander said.
