Tribute to Brian Charles Lara

The news of Brian Lara's retirement from all forms of cricket took most of us by surprise.  His resignation signals the end of an era in not only West Indies cricket but world cricket on a whole as well as a beginning of a new one.  While many people have had less than savoury things to say about his captaincy, none can question his genius as a batsman. This article purports to chronicle and pay tribute to Brian Charles Lara the batsman while highlighting some of his feats over the past sixteen years. 

 

Born to Bunty and Pearl Lara in the village of Cantaro in Santa Cruz, Trinidad on May 2^nd 1969, Lara progressed to be the most recognizable sports personality in the Caribbean.  Although he was the seventh of eleven children in his family, Lara took no time to make a name for himself.  At the age of eleven Lara was accepted at the prestigious Fatima College which was the leading Catholic school in Trinidad and subsequently went on to acquire seven (7) Olevel subjects.  Cricket negated any higher level of education as Lara concentrated his efforts in being the best cricketer he could be.  He progressed to play for and captain the Trinidad Under 19 Cricket Team, the Trinidad National Team, the West Indies Under 19 Team and the West Indies Seniour Team. 

 

Lara gained international acclaim some fifteen years ago in Sydney Australia when at the age of twenty-three he scored 277 runs against the Mighty Aussies.  It was that innings that was the fillip to the great feats that was to come.  At the regional level he broke the record for the most runs in the first class tournament when he amassed 715 runs in 1994.  On April 18^th of that same year Brian Lara eclipsed Gary Sobers 36-year old world record for the highest test score (365) when he made 375 runs against England in the fifth test at the Antigua Recreation Ground. Later that year Lara signed a country contract with Warwickshire and became the batsman to score the most runs in a first class innings when he scored 501 not out faster than a run a ball with 62 fours and 10 sixes, breaking Haniff Mohammads 35 year old record of 499.  He immediately became the most famous cricketer worldwide and by extension a West Indian ambassador at large.  This was all 13 years ago but his genius did not end there.  Lara has retired with a slew of records all which reaffirm his extra-ordinary genius as a batsman. 

 

Laras world record for most runs in an innings (375) was eclipsed by Matthew Hayden who scored 380 some eight years later in 2002.  Almost ten years to the day after Lara had made 375 against England Lara, again made history by reclaiming the world record and becoming the first batsman to score a quadruple century in a Test innings when he scored 400 not out against England.  For a batsman less than a month shy from his 35^th birthday, that was no mean feat.  Lara now retires as the batsman with the most runs in test cricket with 11,953 runs.  He is also the batsman to score the most runs from one over when he scored four fours and two sixes to score 28 runs against Robin Peterson of South Africa in Johanessburg in the 2003/4 series.  He is tied with the great Sunil Gavaskar as the batsman with the second most test centuries (34) behind Sachin Tendulkar with 35. He has scored a hundred against every team with England and Australia being accounting for 16 of those centuries scoring 7 and 9 centuries against them respectively.  He is second only to the late great Don Bradman (12) for the most double centuries with 9 and tied with Bradman as the only batsmen to have scored triple centuries twice. As captain he has scored the most double centuries (5) than any other captain and also has the highest individual score by a Test Captain of 400.  Lara also holds the world record for the batsman to score more than 1000 runs in a calendar year the most times, doing it on five different occasions in 1995, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005.  It has been said that Lara has been inconsistent but the statistics show a different story.  Since November 2001 to present Lara has scored 5420 Test runs from 51 matches at an average of 60.89 runs per innings with 19 hundreds and 15 half centuries.  Only Ricky Ponting with 25 centuries from 62 matches has cored more centuries than him over that same period.    Both Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid have played more tests than him over the same period but have less runs and less centuries.  Lara along with Ponting, Kallis, Dravid and Yousuf Yohanna are the only five batsman over that five year period to average over 50 in tests.  Most people dip in form at the end of their career but Lara is the anomaly.  In his last test series he scored two centuries against Pakistan with one being a double. 

 

In one day games you are considered great if you average over 40 while the litmus test for greatness in test cricket is to have an average of over 50.  The fact that Lara has retired with an average of 40.88 in one day internationals and an average of 52.88 in Tests further reinforces his greatness.     More often than not he came to the crease with West Indies in disarray and he was always the glimmer of hope that we had to present a formidable total.  When Lara came out to the crease he took with him the weight of expectation of the four million people in the Caribbean and for sixteen years he carried the burden of being the premier batsman in the team well.  West Indian cricket has been on the downward spiral for almost two decades, however his remarkable heroics while batting always kept hope alive in an otherwise hopeless milieu.  When one considers that the difference between the West Indies scoring a respectable total and a horrible total, often rested squarely on the shoulder of Lara, it makes his accomplishments even that more unbelievable. 

 

Cricket has always been more than a game for Caribbean people hence Laras heroics not only symbolized hope but served as a reminder to us that black Caribbean people can be successful on the international stage and demonstrated to young West Indian cricketers that they too can ascend to the top of the cricket pinnacle.  He has instilled pride in every true West Indian fan because of his achievements and the way he has led the way as the premier batsman in the world.  Even those who hated everything else about him, had the highest admiration for him as a batsman.  In the world of sport, it is said that you know when one is truly great if you use only one of their names when speaking of them even after they have retired.  In basketball there is Jordan, Magic, Bird and Kareem.  In soccer there is Pele and Beckham.  In cricket there is Sobers, Gavaskar, Viv, Warne, Botham, Akram and of course the Prince of Port of Spain; Lara.