On Saturday (26.11.2005), the long standing record of the former Aussie captain Allan Border came to an end, in the most emphatic fashion. He held the record for the maximum number of runs scored by an individual in test matches (11,174). But on Saturday, the Trinidad born Brian Lara broke this record when he scored 226 against Australia on the 2nd day of the second test – in an already lost series. His score of 226 came from 298 balls which included 22 boundaries.
The West Indies had a miserable tour when they lost the first test by a huge margin. However in the second test Brian Lara was the lone fighter, contributing 60% of the total score of the Windies, so as to salvage some pride.
Brian Lara was born on May 2nd, 1969 in Santa Cruz, Trinidad, the youngest of the 7 brothers. He made his test debut against Pakistan in 1990 and made 44 and 6. At that time no one would have thought that one day this young lad would become a prolific batsman. His first test centuary came against Australia in Sydney, where he made 277.
The year 1994, definitely should be a year to remember for all cricketing fans as well as cricketing statisticians. This year saw the tumble of many records. Firstly, his innings of 375 against England saw him break Sir Gary Sobers’ world record score of 365 not out. In the same year, he made another mammoth total of 501 not out for his county Warwickshire against Durham. The record still holds good, for the highest score in First Class cricket.
Nine years later in 2003, Matthew Hayden broke Lara’s record of highest individual score and surpassed it by scoring 380. But Lara was not a man to depend on luck. He wanted only his name against the highest individual score. So in 2004, exactly 10 years later, Brian Lara broke Matthew Hayden’s record of 380, by scoring 400. Incidentally, he reached his highest previous score also in the same venue (St.John’s, Antigua) and also against the same opponent (England).
WHAT A BATSMAN…?
The West Indies had a miserable tour when they lost the first test by a huge margin. However in the second test Brian Lara was the lone fighter, contributing 60% of the total score of the Windies, so as to salvage some pride.
Brian Lara was born on May 2nd, 1969 in Santa Cruz, Trinidad, the youngest of the 7 brothers. He made his test debut against Pakistan in 1990 and made 44 and 6. At that time no one would have thought that one day this young lad would become a prolific batsman. His first test centuary came against Australia in Sydney, where he made 277.
The year 1994, definitely should be a year to remember for all cricketing fans as well as cricketing statisticians. This year saw the tumble of many records. Firstly, his innings of 375 against England saw him break Sir Gary Sobers’ world record score of 365 not out. In the same year, he made another mammoth total of 501 not out for his county Warwickshire against Durham. The record still holds good, for the highest score in First Class cricket.
Nine years later in 2003, Matthew Hayden broke Lara’s record of highest individual score and surpassed it by scoring 380. But Lara was not a man to depend on luck. He wanted only his name against the highest individual score. So in 2004, exactly 10 years later, Brian Lara broke Matthew Hayden’s record of 380, by scoring 400. Incidentally, he reached his highest previous score also in the same venue (St.John’s, Antigua) and also against the same opponent (England).
WHAT A BATSMAN…?
Earlier in 2005, he surpassed Steve Waugh, to move into second place. And on November 26th, 2005, he made history by marching ahead of another Aussie great Allan Border to become the worlds’ leading run scorer in tests. Incidentally by this another feather is added to his cap. He became the first player since Sir Garfield Sobers to simultaneously hold the record for most test runs and highest test score. He also has 8 double centuries to his credit and I think only the legendary Sir Don Bradman has more double centuries than him.
So what now, he has conquered all the frontiers in the test arena, he has only his records to break.
LARA HAS INDEED COME A LONG WAY…
Hats off to one of the legends of the game…!
So what now, he has conquered all the frontiers in the test arena, he has only his records to break.
LARA HAS INDEED COME A LONG WAY…
Hats off to one of the legends of the game…!
2 comments:
The best left hander perhaps!??
But what i dont like about him is, he is not consistent enough...unlike a Sachin or Mark Waugh or Steve Waugh.
on another note, this acheivement was in Adelaide Oval...remember Adelaide Oval - Dec 14-15 2003 ? On this very ground Laxman and Dravid had a mega partnership to crush the Aussies(again!)
His scores against australia in 1999..213 at jamaica and 153,both count as among the best match winning knocks.i think those are far more significant than the 400.he is truly my favourite and far better than Sachin.Lara's style of play hasnt changed despite age while Sachin's has and its hard to say if things will revert back.One statistic Lara will not be proud of is this- he is the record holder for being part of the most test defeats..58.Alec stewart held that record till recently.Will west Indies ever improve?
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