No serious injuries; Lara set to play final

London:West Indies captain Brian Lara, who had to retire hurt in the semifinal against Pakistanyesterday, has not suffered a serious injury and was expected to be fit for the ICC Champions Trophy final against England at the Oval on Saturday."Lara suffered a short spell of dizziness and slight headache after leaving the ground, but he has been cleared of any serious injury by the ground medical doctor," West Indiesphysiotherapist Andrew Simpson was quoted as saying in an International Cricket Council's press release here.

"Lara will remain under observation in the coming days but is expected to lead his team against hosts England in the ICC Champions Trophy final at the Oval on Saturday," therelease said.

The West Indies skipper had to leave the field after suffering a nasty blow on the neck by a bouncer from Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar at the Rose Bowl yesterday. Lara took his eyes off the ball, delivered at around 95 miles per hour, ducked and tumbled to the ground writhing in pain.He lay on the pitch for sometime as he received treatment from the physio before deciding to retire to the dressing room. The left-hander had made 31 off 30 balls with the helpof five fours. Lara also skipped the prize ceremony.