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NATIONAL PRIDE flowed through Piarco International Airport yesterday as dignitaries and ordinary citizens alike turned out in their numbers to welcome home world cricket record holder Brian Lara. From as early as 11 am, people began gathering within the airport's atrium as anticipation grew about the West Indies' captain's imminent arrival aboard BWIA 618 from Georgetown. Security was heavy with a large contingent of police officers and soldiers monitoring the proceedings on the ground while a police helicopter maintained a watchful presence from the skies above.

Heavy showers, which drenched the airport's environs, and news that Lara's flight had been delayed failed to dampen the spirits of those present and those who continued to arrive in their numbers to welcome home the “Prince of Port-of-Spain.” Their patience was rewarded at 2 pm, when hand in hand with daughter Sydney and flanked by Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Education Minister Hazel Manning, Lara emerged to thunderous applause and unbridled joy from the citizens below. Flanking them on either side were a group of tiny tots clad in West Indies cricket uniforms.

The reception outside the airport was the same, with Lara given a guard of honour by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Under-15 cricket team. During the reception that followed, Lara was hailed for being a role model for the region and restoring respectability to West Indies cricket. There was a heavy turnout of Government Ministers while Princes Town MP Subhas Panday was the only Opposition representative present. As Lara left the airport, thousands of citizens cheered his entourage as it headed west along the Eastern Main Road towards Port-of-Spain. The West Indies captain stopped his motorcade in Arouca and San Juan and greeted them personally.