Its funny how it takes a foreigner, and furthermore, former opponent and adversary to give him the respect due when all we can do here in the Caribbean is lambast Lara...
http://sport.independent.co.uk/cricket/article2474448.ece Lara bows out: A bowler's worst nightmare, but it was a privilege to play against himThe 'Prince of Trinidad' deserves to wear the crown as the unrivalled king of modern batsmen, writes Angus Fraser
Published: 23 April 2007
Was Brian Charles Lara, the greatest batsman of the modern game, pushed or did he retire from international cricket of his own volition? Quite frankly, I could not give a damn. This is not the time or place to delve into the murky muddle of West Indian cricket politics. All I know is that I, and millions of cricket fans, watched him bat for the very last time against England on Saturday and it is that which saddens me deeply.
Lara was a batsman you would be happy to pay at the turnstiles to see. Yes, he was flawed and his behaviour off the field was not quite as exemplary as it was on it, where he was one of the few batsmen in world cricket to walk after edging a catch. Most geniuses have failings and Lara, despite his efforts, was a poor captain. But this did not prevent his presence on a cricket field from bringing excitement and joy to a sport for more than 15 years.
Bowlers, opposing bowlers anyway, did not quite go through the same range of emotions. When I was playing for England, the thought of bowling at him used to fill me with dread. When the mood was right, and that broad piece of willow came down from that ridiculously high back-lift with the precision of a conductor's baton, which seemed to happen all too often against us, he could make you look a fool.
At Trent Bridge in 1995 he did this to me, hitting the ball exactly where I had just moved a fielder from. There was nowhere I could bowl at him. Good-length balls on off-stump would be sent sizzling through the covers for four, full deliveries were drilled through extra cover or clipped over midwicket and anything short was pulled viciously through the leg-side. On days like these you just had to accept that you were competing against a greater force. You had to take your licks and come back fighting the following day.
When I became a journalist my emotions changed. The prospect of turning up to a cricket ground to watch him bat suddenly became a thrill. Excited, I would nervously watch the first few deliveries he faced, hoping that the bowler did not get him before he was set. Then, when the first back-foot drive flashed through gully for four, I would sit back with a big smile on my face - there are few better ways of spending five hours of your life than watching Lara bat.
Actually, if I am being totally honest, I used to enjoy watching Lara bat even when I was playing against him. But only when I was not bowling. It was a privilege to stand at mid-off and observe his brilliance, but because it was one of my team-mates who was getting clattered through the covers, I dared not smile. Occasionally a colleague and I would look at each other after the ball had thudded into an advertising board, purse our lips and emit a little "ooh". We knew what each other meant and realised how fortunate we were.
The first time England came across Lara was in 1990 when he played for the President's XI in a three-day game at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre, Trinidad. I didn't play in the match but many in the Caribbean were already raving about the talent of a precocious little 19-year-old. And it was here, while compiling 134, that his love for English bowlers was born.
By England's next tour in 1994, Lara had shown his class by playing one of the greatest innings ever seen at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In just his fifth Test, he scored 277 against an Australian attack containing Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes and Shane Warne.
It was in Georgetown, Guyana, that he scored his first Test hundred against England. Lara played magnificently for his 167 but it was what he did during the lunch and tea intervals that showed his devotion to batting. Most players just want to spend these breaks resting in a chair but Lara, 10 minutes before the umpires returned to the field of play, would go out and have a few throw-downs to get his eye back in. For us tired bowlers looking out of the dressing-room window, it was a very disconcerting sight. This guy meant business.
But it was in Antigua a month later, when he broke Sir Garfield Sobers' record Test score of 365, that his life changed for ever. The innings, and the celebrations that followed at the Antigua Recreation Ground, still amaze me now. England, boosted by a magnificent win in Barbados, took two early wickets on a flat pitch, but from the moment Lara took guard he was in total control.
From a very early stage he looked set for a huge score but he never got carried away. He never got funky or clever and moved from 250 to 300 at the same pace as he scored his initial 50 runs. Lara showed amazing levels of concentration because the long outfield probably cost him 30 or 40 runs.
He did have one edgy spell on the third morning when he was on about 320. I had seen enough of him by then and, after beating the outside edge of his bat on a couple of occasions, I stood in mid-pitch ready to give him a mouthful. But I suddenly realised there was nothing I could really say, and ended up shouting: "I don't suppose I can call you a lucky ****** when you're on 320."
I was at third man in front of Chickies Disco when he pulled Chris Lewis for four to pass Sobers' record. The scenes on the outfield, where ecstatic local supporters were running on from everywhere, were remarkable. At the end of the Test I grabbed the ball he had hit for four from the umpires, got it signed by the England bowlers and presented it to him.
Four years later, England returned to the Caribbean and the opening Test in Jamaica was abandoned because of an unfit pitch after an hour's play. The cancellation resulted in both teams travelling to Trinidad to play back-to-back Tests. But while the ground was being prepared, we had some time to kill and Lara invited the England team up to his house, which had been built on a plot of land given to him by the Trinidadian Government after he had scored 375.
It is a stunning property and Lara, sensing our awe of it, offered to show us round. As we walked through it he pointed out rooms, saying, "This is the Tufnell Suite, this is the Fraser wing, these are the Lewis kitchens and this is the Caddick lounge". Lara had named areas of his house after the England bowlers who allowed him to earn the money to build such a beautiful place.
Matthew Hayden went past Lara's record in October 2003 but the Prince of Trinidad regained his crown five months later in Antigua against England. On this occasion I looked on as a journalist and his innings of 400 was probably better than the 375 because he had to go through the same process, and show the same levels of concentration again. I believe he is looking to build an extension so Messrs Flintoff, Harmison, Hoggard and Jones may gain the same notoriety.
Lara has probably played half a dozen of the best Test innings cricket has seen, with his unbeaten match-winning 153 against Australia in Barbados in 1999 being as good an innings as can ever have been played. He has scored three hundreds, including a 216 against Pakistan, in his last 10 Test innings. Cricket will not be the same without him.
Brian, thanks for the memories and for making cricket fun.
Six of the best: Brian Charles Lara's greatest Test knocks
* 400 not out v England (Antigua, April 2004 - 582 balls; 43 fours 4 sixes)
Lara reclaims his record for highest Test score from Matthew Hayden with remarkable show of concentration on his favourite Antigua Recreation Ground. West Indies post 751 for 5 declared in drawn final Test with England 3-0 up.
* 375 v England (caught Jack Russell bowled Andy Caddick) (Antigua, April 1994 - 538 balls; 45 fours 0 sixes)
Lara bats for 766 minutes to break Sir Garry Sobers' record of 365 to spark wild celebrations in Antigua. West Indies, who drew the Test but won the series 3-1, had been 12 for 2 when Lara arrived at the crease.
* 277 v Australia (run out) (Sydney, January 1993 - 372 balls; 38 fours 0 sixes)
In only his fifth Test, Lara announces his arrival with a wonderful innings. West Indies were 31 for 2 at one stage but made 606. The Test was drawn but West Indies won series 2-1.
* 153 not out v Australia (Bridgetown, March 1999 - 256 balls; 19 fours 1 six)
In a dramatic Test finish, Lara's brilliant innings leads West Indies to a one-wicket victory. They get home on 311 for 9 with Courtney Walsh surviving a strong lbw appeal. Series is drawn 2-2.
* 221 v Sri Lanka (bowled Chaminda Vaas) (Columbo 2001-02 - 354 balls, 23 fours, 2 sixes)
With Vaas enjoying a seven-wicket haul, Lara mounts a one-man fightback, hitting 221 out of a total of 390, with Ramnaresh Sarwan's 69 being the next highest score. Lara sees off Muttiah Muralitharan but the Test is lost, as is the series.
* 202 v South Africa (caught Martin van Jaarsveld bowled Andre Nel) (Johannesburg 2003-04 - 274 balls, 32 fours, 2 sixes)
Lara was struck several painful blows and yet smashed 28 - 4,6,6,4,4,4 - off one Robin Peterson over. Most runs taken off a single over in Test history
* Batting and fielding averages
Tests: Matches 131 Innings 232 Not outs 6 Runs 11,953 Highest score 400 not out Average 52.88 100s 34 50s 48
ODIs: Matches 299 Innings 289 Not outs 32 Runs 10,405 Highest score 169 Average 40.48 100s 19 50s 63.
