Brian Lara: My favourite things [/size]
Brian Lara is not here as a player this summer, but a fascinating new exhibition shows off the memorabilia that contributed to his unforgettable career. The former West Indies captain talked to Angus Fraser about bats, balls and jackets
THE INDEPENDENT
Published:Saturday, June 2007
England's bowlers are not missing Brian Lara, who retired from international cricket during the World Cup. England supporters, though, have the opportunity to remain on familiar terms with him in one sense, and to look closely at the bats with which he broke records and the memorabilia he has collected during his remarkable career at a wonderful exhibition at Lord's.
"These items have not exactly been collected by myself," Lara admitted as he gave me a personal tour of the exhibition. "When I walk away from scoring 375, of course I am going to take that bat out of my cricket bag and put it away. This, after all, is my world record bat. I have also got bats from other players. We would exchange a few things at the end of a series. Sometimes I swap bats with a player, sometimes a bit of kit, sometimes someone just gave me a bat with a message on it. Here I have bats with messages signed by Sachin [Tendulkar], Haydos [Matthew Hayden], Graeme Smith, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff.
"I have accumulated a lot over the years, and visitors who come to see me in the Caribbean like to see them. They are normally on show in my house. My whole family knew the significance of Lord's from an early age, so to occupy some real estate here is a huge thrill."
It would be easy to believe that Lara's greatness was all down to natural talent. In fact, he worked as hard as any cricketer, and the curator at the Lord's museum became aware of his attention to detail as we looked around. Hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the colourful display is a huge circular construction with cricket balls hanging down from it. Each ball depicts where Lara scored runs during his world record total of 400. The balls signifying fours hang slightly lower than those showing ones and twos and the sixes even lower still.
There was a small empty rectangular area in the middle of it all to indicate where the pitch was and, after close inspection, Lara told them they had got it the wrong way round - that the pitch should be pointing in a different direction. He knew exactly where he scored his runs, where the sixes and fours had been hit, and what the wagon wheel should look like.
There is one innings, Lara's first Test hundred, that is not represented because he cannot find the bat with which he scored 277 against Australia in 1993. Lara would love to know where it is and get it back. I asked him whether he had a memento of the feat? He said: "Yes, my daughter." Lara's daughter, Sydney, is named after the venue where he announced himself as a great player as a 23-year-old.
There are two reasons why Lara agreed to the exhibition. First, to show it off. Second, to make people aware of the foundation set up in memory of his parents, the Pearl and Bunty Lara Foundation.
"The foundation is in my parents' name," he explained. "It is about six years old and it is fuelled by the characteristics of my parents really. My dad was outstanding with myself and my brothers and sisters. There were 11 of us and he had to provide for us all. My mother was less enthusiastic about cricket, she was more into caring. She was known as one of the mothers of the village I grew up in. She would invite any young kid into our house for food or anything she could offer.
"They were tremendous in our upbringing. It is just something we want to do to maintain their legacy. Over the years we have reached out to quite a few people. We have given money to cancer societies in Trinidad and to homes for the underprivileged."
The Brian Lara exhibition is open to those attending matches at Lord's, price £3, and to those who go on organised tours. To book, e-mail tours@mcc.org.uk.
The Jacket signed by Nelson Mandela
This jacket signed by Nelson Mandela is another of my most prized possessions. I was lucky enough to go and see him and I could not leave without getting something signed. I did not have anything so I took off the suit jacket I was wearing and asked him if he would sign it. I did not mind not being able to wear my Hugo Boss suit again.
I was aware of Nelson Mandela through my parents in the Seventies when I was a kid. He was a revered figure. I had a very good understanding of what he stood for as a child. The rebel tours by West Indian sides in the late Seventies and Eighties were also a significant part of my understanding of what was happening in South Africa. I sat with Mr Mandela for an hour and it was probably the best hour of my life, in terms of meeting him and being in his company. He is an amazing man.
The 366 Ball
The ball Lara hit to score his record-breaking 366th run in 1994, signed by the England bowlers who bowled at him that day)
When Lara pulled Chris Lewis for four to break Sir Garfield Sobers' world record score, a party like never before broke out at the Antigua Recreation Ground. Hundreds of spectators climbed over fences and ran on to the pitch as they rushed to congratulate their hero. Lara kissed the pitch, Sobers made his way to the middle - it took 10 to 15 minutes for the umpires, Darrell Hair and Steve Bucknor, to clear the ground.
With the playing area devoid of spectators, the umpires looked at each other, then the players, and asked: "Who has got the ball?" The square-leg fielder ran to the boundary and, amazingly, found the ball resting against the boundary rope.
At the end of the West Indian innings, I went into the umpires' room and asked if I could have the ball to give to Brian. They said they were going to use it as a spare. I told them it was a piece of cricket history. After signing it myself and then getting Andrew Caddick, Philip Tufnell, Graeme Hick and Lewis to sign it, I presented Lara with the ball at the end of the Test. Lara did not remember me giving him the ball but, after I had reminded him, he told the curator to "make sure the Fraser signature is showing when it is on display so that people can see that I smashed him about".
The 501 Helmet
The exhibition was being completed when I met Lara and he asked the curator what was to be put in one of the empty, clear Perspex containers . The curator told Lara that the signed blue helmet he wore when he scored 501 [for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994] would be placed in the box.
Lara did not seem overly pleased with the idea, suggesting that it would be better if the box contained things he wore while scoring 375 against England. Lara said that he was briefly returning to Trinidad and would bring back the shirt, boots and thigh guard he wore. His reaction left me in doubt as to which innings gave him the most pride.
The 28 Ball
On 14 December 2003 Robin Petersen, an unremarkable left-arm spinner, ran up to bowl the penultimate over of the third day's play for South Africa. Graeme Smith, the captain, attempting to lure Lara into a false shot, kept the field up at the Wanderers Ground in Johannesburg. It was too good an opportunity for Lara, who was unbeaten on 150, and he proceeded to smash the over for 28, breaking the world record for the number of runs scored in an over of Test cricket. Petersen presented Lara with the ball, signed by himself, at the end of the Test.
The first ball was cut to the cover-point boundary for four, the second and third struck mightily over long-on for six, the fourth and fifth smashed back over the bowler's head for four and the sixth deftly cut to the third-man boundary.
Graeme Smith brought on Petersen just before the close and after I hit the first ball for four he brought in mid-on. Then I hit the next ball for six and he brought in deep square-leg. I thought: "What was going on?" This was the last over of the day. He was trying to lure me and I suppose he would have settled for going for 10 to 15 runs to get me out. But it proved to be quite an expensive gamble.
Overseas Personality of the Year award from the 1994 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards
Brian Lara won the award after breaking cricket's two most prestigious world records in a remarkable seven-week period. At the Antigua Recreation Ground on 18 April 1994 Lara passed Sir Garfield Sobers' world record Test score of 365, and then at Edgbaston on 6 June he broke Hanif Mohammad's record for the highest individual score - 499. Lara's unbeaten 501 came off 427 balls, containing 62 fours and 10 sixes.
In terms of recognition, the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award means most to me. It is a prized possession, especially when you look at the past winners. The likes of Muhammad Ali, Sir Garfield Sobers, and Michael Jordan before me and Tiger Woods since make it very, very special. These are awesome sportsmen to be considered on a par with.
The 375 Bat
On 12 April 2004, 10 years after initially breaking Sir Garfield Sobers' world record for the highest individual score in Test cricket, Lara reclaimed his throne from Matthew Hayden (who had made 380 for Australia v Zimbabwe in October 2003) with a brilliant unbeaten 400 against England. But it is the innings of 375 in 1994 of which he is proudest.
Of all my personal stuff the thing that means most to me is the bat that I scored 375 with in Antigua. I would not say that I had a favourite
bat. Obviously each of the bats I broke records with mean a lot but when you play at international level you keep getting the best from your manufacturer.
They all have a slightly different shape and weight. The one thing they must have is a very good, a very light pick-up - I must not feel much in my hands. Generally most of the bats that I use are not heavy. The grip is a very important factor as well. I use two rubbers.
I liked the Gray Nicholls scoop when I first started. I was a teenager. Gordon Greenidge and Jeffrey Dujon used to use them. It was the style, the in-thing, the new bat back in the late 1980s.
I would modify my bats slightly when they arrived. The early bats I got from Gray Nicholls had a spongy material underneath the rubber, and because of that I used one rubber. With my MRF bats, though, there is just a handle with thread wrapped around it and I would put two rubbers on them.
