Legend Lara revels in the glorious past wishes West Indies a bright future

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

On April 18, 1994, the history was rewritten in Antigua and fast forward to 2021, it is being relived in Dubai.

The West Indian legend Brain Lara, who fascinated the world with mesmerizing knock of 375 at the tender age of 24 and heralded the advent of new batting superstar on the world stage, chose Dubai to mark the 27th anniversary of the occasion.

Lara is in Dubai on a month-long trip with his three bats, with which he has played the three most memorable innings of his life.

En route to breaking the world record for the highest score in Test by his countrymen Sir Garfield Sobers, who had held it for 36 years, Lara had shown the world a glimpse of what he had in store for the cricket fans.

Since then the record has stayed with the swashbuckling left-hander except for a brief period when Australia’s Mathew Hayden scored 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003 before the West Indian great reclaimed it.

The bats with which Lara broke the record of Sobers and Hayden are on display along with the one, he used to score a mammoth unbeaten 501 in Dubai.

Ten years down the line, the wizard once again rekindled the same magic and went on to break Hayden’s record of 380 and became the only man in the history of the game to touch the magical mark of 400 runs, which remains a record till date in Test matches.

Hayden could keep the honour for a brief period as Lara returned in style to stake his claim and reclaim bragging rights. This time around he raised the bar, scoring the only quadruples century, which has remained a distant elusive for the rest.

In an exclusive interview with Gulf Today, Lara poured his heart out and spoke on many subjects.

Reminiscing the wonderful life-changing moments, an apparently delighted Lara said: “I still remember, I was batting at 374 and they had called the field inside the circle. May be they were expecting me to take a single.

“I thought it was an opportunity and I decided to go for a six as I was seeing the ball well. At that point of time there is no fear and your know what are capable of,” said the legend.

Meanwhile, Lara ruled out that the advent of the shorter formats of the game is a threat to Test cricket and asserted that all the formats can co-exist.

Test matches are the oldest format of the game and has managed survive for almost two centuries, braving the relentless march of the time and tides.

“No the Test matches are still very much there and it can co-exist with the shorter formats. The problem with the Test  cricket is that sometimes you find a pitch that has not much to offer. And from the day one or day two the match looks like heading to a draw.

“Now-a-days with the exciting players, we have more opportunities to create a result. I don’t see T20 or T10 taken away from the game. Obviously their players are not Test players like Pujara and Kraig Brathwaite. They can’t find place any team in the shorter format of the game. I think everything is pretty well balanced,” said the trailblazer.

He also hailed West Indies whitewash of Bangladesh as a great victory for them. In a recently-concluded Test series, West Indies clean swept Bangladesh 2-0 in the Tiger’s den.

“I think it has always been there. We have won the Test matches in England and Australia, done pretty well. This is a great victory against Bangladesh in Bangladesh.

“We were pretty much in the ICC Test standings and suffering with little or no points. To get some points and to get going is great. I just hope that the players can fine some self-belief.

“That is something that you can take way as an individual. It is great for the team’s success. Any of the young players who have had success in the series, should take that into the next series and try and convert that form to achieve something bigger,” opined the swashbuckling batsman.

The West Indian great is an admirer of the Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar and the countrymen Sir Viv Richards. Lara was full of adulation for the two batsmen of the modern era. He rated the duo as the best batsmen he has ever seen in action.

“I like two players Sachin and Sir Vivian. They are the greatest batsmen, whom I have seen or played with or against,” he concluded.