BRIDGETOWN, Barbados Reuters:

Former West Indies captain Brian Lara refused to rule out a return to first-class cricket after making his final bow on the international stage on Saturday.

In his last press conference as skipper of the World Cup hosts, Lara also expressed regret that he would not be part of next month's tour of England - a view which is likely to fuel speculation that he retired after being told he would not lead the team in that series.

Asked whether he would consider playing in county cricket, Lara said: "I just need to walk out of this room and think, go home and relax for a little while. I'm not writing anything off but at this present time I am just happy to have played for West Indies.

Wait and see

"I don't know what the future holds on the cricket field, you've just got to wait and see," he said after the one-wicket defeat by England in the last Super Eight game on Saturday.

Lara, who played for War-wickshire in the 1990's, had originally planned to retire only from one-dayers after the World Cup and continue with the Test team.

He said his plans changed after the disappointing results at the World Cup - where the hosts failed to reach the semis having won just