Lara, Brian

▪ 1995

      In the space of 50 glorious days of dominance, Brian Lara broke the two most coveted batting records in cricket. On April 18, 1994, in Antigua, the West Indian left-hander scored 375, beating the 365 not out of Sir Garfield Sobers in 1958; and on June 6, at the Edgbaston ground in Birmingham, England, Lara made the highest individual score in first-class cricket with an unbeaten innings of 501 for his county, Warwickshire, against Durham. It was Lara's seventh century in eight innings, a record of sustained run-scoring that not even Sir Don Bradman, the greatest of all batsmen, had been able to match.

      Lara was still just 25 years old, but if he never made another run, he had already established himself as one of the greats, a worthy inheritor of the tradition of West Indian batting set by Everton Weekes, Viv Richards, and Clive Lloyd. Lara was smaller than all of these, but he relied on timing, a high back lift, and iron-firm wrists rather than brute strength for his power, and his rate of scoring—a run a minute during his 501—was all the more phenomenal because he did not look aggressive either on or off the field. Though not short of self-confidence, he had none of Richards' swagger. But, like all the great batsmen, he played straight and late.

      Lara was born on May 2, 1969, in Cantaro, Trinidad, one of a family of 11, and was a natural games player in his youth, a member of the national under-14 association football (soccer) team, and a useful tennis player. But, as with most West Indian children, cricket was his great love. Under the guidance of the former Test left-hander Joey Carew, the boy quickly became the talk of the Caribbean—destined to lead West Indies into the next decade. It did not happen immediately. Lara was selected for West Indies first at age 21, but he did not make his mark until three years later.

      There was no doubt about Lara's talent, but his concentration was erratic and his patience limited. The first sign that he was starting to overcome those failings came in Sydney, Australia, in 1993, when his innings of 277—full of delicate late cuts, full-blooded drives, and flicks of his hips, his trademark shot—heralded the arrival of a new force in Test cricket.

      Despite the adulation, the fame, and the growing fortune, Lara remained a shy, modest, amusing man, aware of his gifts, but not conceitedly so. The only dangers to an assured rise into the ranks of the very greatest players lay in the expectations that his phenomenal feats had prompted and the staleness that often comes from playing too much cricket. By the middle of the summer, he was nursing a knee injury and complaining of fatigue, but his mere presence lifted Warwickshire to an historic treble in domestic competitions in England. There seemed to be no limit to what Lara could achieve over the next decade or to the pleasure he would bring to those fortunate enough to watch him bat.

      (ANDREW LONGMORE)

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▪ Trinidadian athlete

in full  Brian Charles Lara 

born May 2, 1969, Cantaro, Trinidad

      West Indian cricketer, one of the sport's most renowned contemporary players. The compact left-handed batsman is the record holder for most runs scored in an innings in both Test (international) and first-class cricket.

      One of a family of 11, a natural athlete, and a member of the national under-(age)14 football (soccer) team, Lara was expected from an early age to be the next great West Indian cricketer. He was first selected for the West Indies national team in 1990 at age 21, but he did not make his mark until 1994, when he broke the two most coveted batting records in cricket, scoring 375 runs against England (besting Sir Garfield Sobers's 36-year-old record) and 501 runs (not out) for Warwickshire, his English county team. In 2004 Lara then became the first player to retake the Test batting record when his 400 runs (not out) against England surpassed the 380 runs posted by Australian Matthew Hayden in 2003.

      Between these Herculean feats, Lara sometimes struggled to perform at the level expected of him, and some questioned his dedication to the sport. Likewise, under his captaincy the record of the West Indies national team was undistinguished. However, there is no doubt that he ranks with the likes of Sobers, Sir Don Bradman, Clive Lloyd, and Sir Viv Richards as among cricket's greatest batsmen.

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