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'''Brian Charles Lara''', born in 2 May 1969, in [[Santa Cruz, Trinidad and Tobago| Santa Cruz]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]] is a [[retired]] [[West Indies]] cricketer and is widely regarded as one of the finest batsmen ever to have played the game.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://content.cricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/52337.html |title= Brian Lara }}</ref> <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/serialisations/article3694486.ece |title= Genius of Brian Lara hailed by Wisden |publisher= [[TimesOnline]]}}</ref> This elegant left handed batsman has topped the [[Test cricket|Test]] batting [[LG ICC cricket ratings|rankings]] on several occasions and holds several cricketing records. He holds the record for the highest individual score in [[first-class cricket]], with a total of 501 not out for [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]] against [[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]] at [[Edgbaston Cricket Ground|Edgbaston]] in 1994, which is the first and only quituple hundred in first-class cricket history.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/cricket/article25899.ece |title= Farewell to legend Lara |publisher= [[The Sun]]}}</ref> He also holds the record for the highest individual score in a test innings when he scored 400 not out against [[England]] at [[Antigua]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/208504.html |title= Most runs in an innings |publisher= www.cricinfo.com}}</ref> While achieving this milestone, he also became the only player ever to hold this test record twice, after his record previous record of 375, scored against England in 1994 was broken by [[Matthew Hayden]] of [[Australia]] when he scored 380 against [[Zimbabwe]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://content.cricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/52337.html |title= Cricinfo - Players and Officials - Brian Lara |publisher= www.cricinfo.com}}</ref> Remarkably he is the only batsman to have ever scored a hundred, a double century, a triple century, and quadruple century and a quintuple century in first class games over the course of a senior career.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://everything2.com/title/Brian%2520Lara |title= Record-breaking Batsman and Captain of the West Indies Test Cricket team}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.itscricket.com/lara.htm |title= West Indies Cricket Team}}</ref> Lara was also the record holder for the highest number of career runs scored by a batsman in test cricket until he was surpassed by [[Sachin Tendulkar]] on 17 October, 2008. Lara also holds the test record of scoring most number of runs in a single over, when he scored 28 runs off an over by [[Robin Peterson]] of [[South Africa]] in 2003.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/233006.html |title= Most runs off one over |publisher= www.cricinfo.com}}</ref>
'''Brian Charles Lara''', born in 2 May 1969, in [[Santa Cruz, Trinidad and Tobago| Santa Cruz]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]] is a [[retired]] [[West Indies]] cricketer and is widely regarded as one of the finest batsmen ever to have played the game.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://content.cricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/52337.html |title= Brian Lara }}</ref> <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/serialisations/article3694486.ece |title= Genius of Brian Lara hailed by Wisden |publisher= [[TimesOnline]]}}</ref> This elegant left handed batsman has topped the [[Test cricket|Test]] batting [[LG ICC cricket ratings|rankings]] on several occasions and holds several cricketing records. He holds the record for the highest individual score in [[first-class cricket]], with a total of 501 not out for [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]] against [[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]] at [[Edgbaston Cricket Ground|Edgbaston]] in 1994, which is the first and only quituple hundred in first-class cricket history.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/cricket/article25899.ece |title= Farewell to legend Lara |publisher= [[The Sun]]}}</ref> He also holds the record for the highest individual score in a test innings when he scored 400 not out against [[England]] at [[Antigua]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/208504.html |title= Most runs in an innings |publisher= www.cricinfo.com}}</ref> Remarkably he is the only batsman to have ever scored a hundred, a double century, a triple century, and quadruple century and a quintuple century in first class games over the course of a senior career.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://everything2.com/title/Brian%2520Lara |title= Record-breaking Batsman and Captain of the West Indies Test Cricket team}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.itscricket.com/lara.htm |title= West Indies Cricket Team}}</ref> Lara was also the record holder for the highest number of career runs scored by a batsman in test cricket until he was surpassed by [[Sachin Tendulkar]] on 17 October, 2008. Lara also holds the test record of scoring most number of runs in a single over, when he scored 28 runs off an over by [[Robin Peterson]] of [[South Africa]] in 2003.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/233006.html |title= Most runs off one over |publisher= www.cricinfo.com}}</ref>


Lara's match-winning performance of 153 not out against Australia in [[Bridgetown]], [[Barbados]] in 1999 has been rated by [[Wisden]] as the second best batting performance in the history of Test cricket, next only to the 270 runs scored by [[Sir Donald Bradman]] in an [[Ashes]] test match of 1937.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.thehindujobs.com/thehindu/2001/07/28/stories/07280281.htm |title= Wisden 100 hails Laxman, ignores Tendulkar |publisher= [[The Hindu]]}}</ref> [[Muttiah Muralitharan]], the highest wicket-taker in both [[Test cricket]]<ref name=testlist>''Cricinfo'', [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/93276.html Highest Test Wicket-takers]</ref> and in [[One Day Internationals]] (ODIs)<ref name=odilist>''Cricinfo'', [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283193.html Highest ODI Wicket-takers]</ref> and rated as the greatest [[Test cricket|Test match]] [[bowler (cricket)|bowler]] ever by ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]'', <ref name=bbc-12/13/02>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/2572069.stm |title=Murali 'best bowler ever' |publisher=''[[BBC Sport]]''|date=2002-12-13 |accessdate=2007-12-14}}</ref> hailed Brian Lara as his toughest opponent among all batsmen in the world. <ref>{{cite web| url= http://in.rediff.com/wc2003/2003/feb/28muth.htm |title= Lara a tougher opponent than Tendulkar: Murali |publisher= www.in.rediff.com}}</ref> Brian Lara was awarded the [[Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World]] awards in 1994 and 1995.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisden_Leading_Cricketer_in_the_World |title= Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World}}</ref>. He is also one of only three cricketers to receive the prestigious [[BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year]], the other two being the great West Indian allrounder [[Sir Garfield Sobers]] and Australia's [[Shane Warne]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tv_and_radio/sports_personality_of_the_year/7772192.stm |title= Sports Personality |publisher= [[BBC]]}}</ref> Brian Lara is nicknamed as The Prince of Trinidad or simply The Prince.
Lara's match-winning performance of 153 not out against Australia in [[Bridgetown]], [[Barbados]] in 1999 has been rated by [[Wisden]] as the second best batting performance in the history of Test cricket, next only to the 270 runs scored by [[Sir Donald Bradman]] in an [[Ashes]] test match of 1937.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.thehindujobs.com/thehindu/2001/07/28/stories/07280281.htm |title= Wisden 100 hails Laxman, ignores Tendulkar |publisher= [[The Hindu]]}}</ref> [[Muttiah Muralitharan]], the highest wicket-taker in both [[Test cricket]]<ref name=testlist>''Cricinfo'', [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/93276.html Highest Test Wicket-takers]</ref> and in [[One Day Internationals]] (ODIs)<ref name=odilist>''Cricinfo'', [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283193.html Highest ODI Wicket-takers]</ref> and rated as the greatest [[Test cricket|Test match]] [[bowler (cricket)|bowler]] ever by ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]'', <ref name=bbc-12/13/02>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/2572069.stm |title=Murali 'best bowler ever' |publisher=''[[BBC Sport]]''|date=2002-12-13 |accessdate=2007-12-14}}</ref> hailed Brian Lara as his toughest opponent among all batsmen in the world. <ref>{{cite web| url= http://in.rediff.com/wc2003/2003/feb/28muth.htm |title= Lara a tougher opponent than Tendulkar: Murali |publisher= www.in.rediff.com}}</ref> Brian Lara was awarded the [[Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World]] awards in 1994 and 1995.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisden_Leading_Cricketer_in_the_World |title= Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World}}</ref>. He is also one of only three cricketers to receive the prestigious [[BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year]], the other two being the great West Indian allrounder [[Sir Garfield Sobers]] and Australia's [[Shane Warne]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tv_and_radio/sports_personality_of_the_year/7772192.stm |title= Sports Personality |publisher= [[BBC]]}}</ref> Brian Lara is nicknamed as The Prince of Trinidad or simply The Prince.

Revision as of 14:25, 8 March 2009

Brian Lara
Lara batting against India, Kensington Oval, Barbados, May 2002
Personal information
Full name
Brian Charles Lara
NicknameThe Prince of Port-of-Spain, The Prince of Trinidad, The Prince
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight-arm leg-break
RoleHigher middle order batsman
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 196)6 December 1990 v Pakistan
Last Test27 November 2006 v Pakistan
ODI debut (cap 59)9 November 1990 v Pakistan
Last ODI21 April 2007 v England
ODI shirt no.9
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1987–2008Trinidad and Tobago
1994–1998Warwickshire
1992–1993Transvaal
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 131 299 261 429
Runs scored 11,953 10,405 22,156 14,602
Batting average 52.88 40.48 51.88 39.67
100s/50s 34/48 19/63 65/88 27/86
Top score 400* 169 501* 169
Balls bowled 60 49 514 130
Wickets 4 4 5
Bowling average 15.25 104.00 29.80
5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a
Best bowling 2/5 1/1 2/5
Catches/stumpings 164/– 120/– 320/– 177/–
Source: cricinfo.com, 4 February 2008

Brian Charles Lara, born in 2 May 1969, in Santa Cruz, Trinidad and Tobago is a retired West Indies cricketer and is widely regarded as one of the finest batsmen ever to have played the game.[1] [2] This elegant left handed batsman has topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing records. He holds the record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, with a total of 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994, which is the first and only quituple hundred in first-class cricket history.[3] He also holds the record for the highest individual score in a test innings when he scored 400 not out against England at Antigua in 2004.[4] Remarkably he is the only batsman to have ever scored a hundred, a double century, a triple century, and quadruple century and a quintuple century in first class games over the course of a senior career.[5] [6] Lara was also the record holder for the highest number of career runs scored by a batsman in test cricket until he was surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar on 17 October, 2008. Lara also holds the test record of scoring most number of runs in a single over, when he scored 28 runs off an over by Robin Peterson of South Africa in 2003.[7]

Lara's match-winning performance of 153 not out against Australia in Bridgetown, Barbados in 1999 has been rated by Wisden as the second best batting performance in the history of Test cricket, next only to the 270 runs scored by Sir Donald Bradman in an Ashes test match of 1937.[8] Muttiah Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in both Test cricket[9] and in One Day Internationals (ODIs)[10] and rated as the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, [11] hailed Brian Lara as his toughest opponent among all batsmen in the world. [12] Brian Lara was awarded the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World awards in 1994 and 1995.[13]. He is also one of only three cricketers to receive the prestigious BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, the other two being the great West Indian allrounder Sir Garfield Sobers and Australia's Shane Warne.[14] Brian Lara is nicknamed as The Prince of Trinidad or simply The Prince.

Early life

Lara's father Bunty and one of his older sisters Agnes Cyrus enrolled him in the local Harvard Coaching Clinic at the age of six for weekly coaching sessions on Sundays. As a result, Lara had a very early education in correct batting technique. Lara's first school was St. Joseph's Roman Catholic primary. He then went to San Juan secondary, but played no cricket there. A year later, at fourteen years old, he moved on to Fatima College where he started his development as a promising young player under cricket coach Mr. Harry Ramdas. Aged 14, he amassed 745 runs in the schoolboys' league, with an average of 126.16 per innings, which earned him selection for the Trinidad national under-16 team. When he was 15 years old, he played in his first West Indian under 19 youth tournament and that same year, Lara represented West Indies in Under-19 cricket.

Lara moved in with his future fellow Trinidadian cricketer Michael Carew in Woodbrook, Port of Spain (a 20 minute drive from Santa Cruz). Michael's father Joey Carew worked with him on his cricketing and personal career development. Michael got Lara his first job at Angostura Ltd. in the marketing department. Lara played in Trinidad and Tobago junior soccer and table tennis sides but Lara believed that cricket was his path to success, saying that he wanted to emulate his idols Gordon Greenidge, Viv Richards and Roy Fredericks.

Early cricket career

1987 was a breakthrough year for Lara, when in the West Indies Youth Championships he scored 498 runs beating the record of 480 by Carl Hooper set the previous year.[15] He captained the Trinidad and Tobago team at this tournament whom eventually won the tournament due to a match winning 116 from Lara.

In January 1988, Lara made his first-class debut for Trinidad and Tobago in the Red Stripe Cup against Leeward Islands. In his second first-class match he made 92 against a Barbados attack containing Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall, two greats of West Indies teams. Later in the same year, he captained the West Indies team in Australia for the Bicentennial Youth World Cup where the West Indies reached the semi-finals. Later that year, his innings of 182 as captain of the West Indies under 23 XI against the touring Indian team elevated his reputation even further.

His first selection for the full West Indies team followed in due course, but unfortunately coincided with the death of his father and Lara withdrew from the team. In 1989, he captained a West Indies B Team in Zimbabwe and scored 145.

In 1990, at the age of 20, Lara became Trinidad and Tobago's youngest ever captain, leading them that season to victory in the one-day Geddes Grant Shield. It was also in 1990 that he made his belated Test debut for West Indies against Pakistan, scoring 44 and 5. He had made his ODI debut a month earlier against Pakistan, scoring 11. In the 1992 World Cup Lara did well averaging 47.57 with a highest score of 88 retired hurt.

In January 1993, Lara scored 277 versus Australia in Sydney, this was his maiden Test century in his fifth Test, this innings was the turning point of the series as West Indies won the final two Tests to win the series 2-1.Lara went on to name his daughter Sydney after scoring 277 at SCG.

He was greatly influenced by Trinidadian Lester Armogan. Lara was devastated with "Uncle Les's" death, but has been able to rebound. He knows "Uncle Les" is watching.[16]

Career

Lara holds several world records for high scoring. He has the highest individual score in both first-class cricket (501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994) and Test cricket (400 not out for the West Indies against England in 2004). Lara amassed his world record 501 in 474 minutes off only 427 balls. He hit 308 in boundaries (10 sixes and 62 fours). His partners were Roger Twose (115 partnership - 2nd wicket), Trevor Penney (314 - 3rd), Paul Smith (51 - 4th) and Keith Piper (322 unbroken - 5th). Earlier in that season Lara scored six centuries in seven innings while playing for Warwickshire.

He is the only man to have reclaimed the Test record score, having scored 375 against England in 1994, a record that stood until Matthew Hayden's 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003. His 400 not out also made him the second player after Donald Bradman to score two Test triple-centuries, and the second after Bill Ponsford to score two first-class quadruple-centuries. He has scored nine double centuries in Test cricket, second only to Bradman's twelve. In 1995 Lara in the test match away series against England, scored 3 hundreds in Three consecutive Matches which earned him the Man of the Series award. The Test Series was eventually drawn 2-2. He also held the record for the highest total number of runs in a Test career, after overtaking Allan Border in an innings of 226 played at Adelaide Oval, Australia in November 2005.

However this was broken by Sachin Tendulkar of India on October 19, 2008 whilst playing against Australia at Mohali in the 2nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008. Hence, he now holds the new world record of most runs in a Test Career.

Lara captained the West Indies from 1998 to 1999 in this period West Indies suffered their first whitewash at the hands of South Africa following this they played Australia in a four Test series which was drawn 2-2, Lara scored 546 runs including two centuries and one double hundred. In the second Test at Kingston he scored 213 while in the third Test he scored 153* in the second innings as West Indies chased down 311 with one wicket left. He won the Man of the Match award for both matches and was also named Man of the Series.

In 2001 Lara was named the Man of the Carlton Series in Australia with an average of 46.50 the highest average by a West Indian in that series scoring two half centuries and one century, 116 against Australia. Also in that year Lara amassed 688 runs in the three match away Test series against Sri Lanka making three centuries and one fifty including a double century and a century in the first and second innings of the 3rd Test Match at the Sinhalese Sports Ground making 42% of the team's runs in that series. These extraordinary performances led Muttiah Muralitharan to state that Lara was the most dangerous batsman he had ever faced.[17]

Lara was reappointed as captain against the touring Australians in 2003, and struck 110 in his first Test match back in charge, showing signs of him returning to his best. Later that season under his captaincy West Indies won the two match Test series against Sri Lanka 1-0 with Lara making a double century in the First Test. In September 2004, West Indies won the ICC Champions Trophy in England under his captaincy.

In March 2005, Lara declined selection for the West Indies team because of a dispute over his personal Cable & Wireless sponsorship deal, which clashed with the Cricket Board's main sponsor, Digicel. Six other players were involved in this dispute, including stars Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo. Lara said he declined selection in a stand of solidarity, when these players were dropped because of their sponsorship deals.[18] The issue was resolved after the first Test of the series against the touring South African team.

Lara returned to the team for the second Test (and scored a huge first innings score of 196), but in the process lost his captaincy indefinitely to the newly-appointed Shivnarine Chanderpaul. In the next Test, against the same opponents, he scored a 176 in the first innings. After a one day series against South Africa, he scored his first Test century against the visiting Pakistanis in the first Test at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados which the West Indies eventually won.

On 26 April 2006 Lara was reappointed the captain of the West Indies cricket team for the third time. This followed the resignation of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who had been captain for thirteen months - in which the West Indies won just one of the 14 Test matches they had competed. In May 2006, Lara led the West Indies to successful One-Day series victories against Zimbabwe and India. Lara's team played Australia in the finals of the DLF Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy where they finished runners up in both finals.

On 16 December 2006 he became the first player for the West Indies to pass 10,000 One Day International runs.[19] along with Sachin Tendulkar one of only two players to do so in both forms of the game. On 10 April 2007 Lara confirmed his retirement from one day cricket post the 2007 Cricket World Cup.[20] A few days later he announced that he would in fact be retiring from all international cricket after the tournament.[21]

Lara played his final international game on 21 April 2007 in a dead rubber World Cup game against England. He was run out for 18; England won the game. Before the end of this world cup Glenn McGrath stated that Lara is the greatest batsman that he has ever bowled to.[22]

Retirement

Lara during his lap of honour, 2007 CWC.

On 19 April 2007 Lara announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket, indicating that the West Indies vs England match on 21 April 2007 would be his last international appearance.[23] He was run out after a bad mixup with Marlon Samuels for 18, as England went on to win the match by one wicket.[24]

He announced before the 2007 Cricket World Cup that this would be his last appearance in one day internationals. After his last match, in the post-game presentation interview, he asked the fans, "Did I entertain?", to which he received a resounding "Yes!" from the West Indies fans, after which he went out and took his 'lap of honor' where he met and shook hands with many of the fans. This marked the last time Lara would play actively in the game.

It should be noted that while Lara has gone on record as saying that this would be his last appearance in international cricket, he has also indicated his interest in retaining some involvement in the sport.

On 23 July 2007 Lara agreed to sign for the Indian Cricket League.[25] He is currently the captain of the Mumbai Champs.

Brian Lara volunteered to play for his home team Trinidad during the start of 2008 domestic season. He had not played for Trinidad for the last two years. He made his comeback a memorable one with a match winning hundred over Guyana, followed by a dismissive undefeated half-century in the second innings, scored at over two runs per ball.

In the third round game (Trinidad got a bye in the second round), Brian Lara suffered a fractured arm against the Leeward Islands in St Maarten on Jan 19th.

Brian Lara is not playing in the current season of ICL due to a broken arm. Though it was expected that the arm would heal in 6 weeks, it did not and he is still nursing the injury.

Controversies

On the fourth day of the first test match at Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's, Antigua during India's tour of West Indies, 2006, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's flick off Dave Mohammed to the midwicket region was caught by Daren Ganga. As the batsman started to walk back, captain Rahul Dravid declared the innings when confusion started as the umpires were not certain if the fielder stepped on the ropes and Dhoni stayed for the umpire's verdict. While the replays were inconclusive, the captain of the West Indies side, Brian Lara wanted Dhoni to walk-off based on the fielder's assertion of the catch. The impasse continued for more than 15 minutes. Ultimately, Dhoni walked-off and Dravid's declaration was effected but the game was delayed. Lara was called by the match referee for explanation of his actions but was not fined.[26]

Off the field

Brian Lara has established the Pearl and Bunty Lara Foundation, which is a charitable organisation in memory of his parents that aims to address health and social care issues. He is an Ambassador for Sport of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and travels on a diplomatic passport to promote his country throughout the world.[27] Brian Lara received an honorary doctorate from the University of Sheffield on Wednesday 10 January 2007. The ceremony took place at the Trinidad Hilton, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.[27]

On 7 September 2008 he took part in Soccer Aid 2008, playing for the Rest of the World vs a team of England celebrites and ex pros

Personal life

Lara has dated British supermodel Lindsey Ward. Lara is the father of a girl called Sydney whom he fathered with Trinidadian journalist and model Leasel Rovedas. Sydney is so named as a tribute to one of Lara's favourite grounds, the Sydney Cricket Ground, where Lara scored his first Test century- the highly acclaimed 277 in the 1992-93 season. His father died in 1989 of a heart attack and his mother died in 2002 of cancer. Lara has close ties with Trinidadian business mogul Wayne Armogan, who is the son of late Trinidadian Lester Armogan[28]

Statistics

Highlights

Brian Lara's career performance graph.
  • Lara struck 277 runs against Australia in Sydney, his maiden Test century, the fourth highest maiden Test century by any batsman,[29] the highest individual score in all Tests between the two teams and the fourth-highest century ever recorded against Australia by any Test batsman.
  • He became the first man to score seven centuries in eight first-class innings, the first being the record 375 against England and the last being the record 501 not out against Durham.
  • After Matthew Hayden had eclipsed his Test record for highest individual score 375 by five runs in 2003, he reclaimed the record scoring 400 not out in 2004 against England. With these innings he became the second player to score two Test triple centuries, the second player to score two career quadruple centuries, the only player to achieve both these milestones, and regained the distinction of being the holder of both the record first-class individual innings and the record Test individual innings.
  • In the same innings, he became the second batsman to score 1000 Test runs in five different years, four days after Matthew Hayden first set the record.
  • He was the all-time leading run scorer in Test cricket, a record he attained on 26 November 2005[30] until surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar on 17 October 2008.
  • He was the fastest batsmen to score 10,000 (with Sachin Tendulkar) and 11,000 Test runs, in terms of number of innings.[31]
  • He scored 34 centuries; joint-third along with Sunil Gavaskar, on the all-time list behind Sachin Tendulkar (Template:Sachin-stats) and Ricky Ponting (36).[32]
    • He has the most centuries for a West Indian[33]
    • Nine of his centuries are double centuries (surpassed only by Donald Bradman)[33]
    • Two of them are triple-centuries (matched by Bradman[33] and India's Virender Sehwag).
    • He has scored centuries against all Test-playing nations. He achieved this feat in 2005 by scoring his first Test century against Pakistan at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
  • He became only the sixth batsman to score a century in one session, doing so against Pakistan on 21 November 2006.[34]
  • Lara has scored an astonishing 20% of his team runs,[35] a feat surpassed only by Bradman (23%) and George Headley (21%). Lara scored 688 runs (42% of team output, a record for a series of three or more Tests, and the second highest aggregate runs in history for a three-Test series) in the 2001-02 tour of Sri Lanka.[36]
  • He also scored a century and a double century in the third Test in that same Sri Lanka tour, a feat repeated only five other times in Test cricket history.[37]
  • The first was the unenviable one of becoming the batsman to score the most runs (351) on a losing side in a Test.
  • The second record was that he became the batsman to score the largest proportion (53.83 per cent) of his team's runs in a Test (221 out of 390 and 130 out of 262). He eclipsed the long-standing record of 51.88 per cent by the South African J. H. Sinclair (106 out of 177 and 4 out of 35) against England at Cape Town in an 1898 - 1899 series.

[38]

  • Lara holds the world record of scoring most runs in a single over (28 runs against left-arm spinner RJ Peterson of South Africa) in Test cricket.[39] He also scored 26 runs in a single over off the bowling of Danish Kaneria at Multan Cricket Stadium on 21 November 2006.
  • He scored the ninth fastest Test century, doing so off 77 balls against Pakistan on 21 November 2006.[40]
  • With 164 catches, He is the fourth all-time catch-taker of non-Wicketkeepers, behind Mark Waugh, Rahul Dravid, and Stephen Fleming.[41]
  • In 1994, he was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award. In 1995, he was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
  • Comfortably averaging over 50 per innings (the benchmark for batting greatness in Test cricket), Lara has been ranked the number one batsman in Test cricket in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Cricket Ratings several times.[42]
  • Lara has played some of his best innings in recent years. Wisden published a top 100 list in July 2001, a distillation of the best performances from 1,552 Tests, 54,494 innings and 29,730 bowling performances. Three innings by Lara were placed in the top 15 (the most for any batsman in that range).[43] His heroic 153 not out in Bridgetown, Barbados, during West Indies' 2-2 home series draw against Australia in *1998-1999 was deemed the second greatest Test innings ever played, behind Bradman's 270 against England in the Third Test of the 1936–1937 series at Melbourne. On 13 October 2003, PricewaterhouseCoopers Ratings team published a list of top innings since 1990 under their own methodology. Lara's 213 against Australia in Kingston, Jamaica in 1999 came out to be the top innings. His 375 was placed 8th and his three other innings, including the 153 not out, were not far behind.
  • Lara previously holds the fastest century in ODI's in 45 balls against Zimbabwe.

Test Centuries

The following tables illustrate a summary of the Test and ODI centuries scored by Brian Lara.

  • In the column Runs, * indicates being not out.
  • The column title Match refers to the Match Number of his career.
Test Centuries of Brian Lara
Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year Result
[1] 277 5 Australia Sydney, Australia Sydney Cricket Ground 1993 Drawn
[2] 167 13 England Georgetown, Guyana Bourda 1993 Won
[3] 375 16 England St John's, Antigua Antigua Recreation Ground 1994 Drawn
[4] 147 21 New Zealand Wellington, New Zealand Basin Reserve 1995 Won
[5] 145 29 England Manchester, England Old Trafford 1995 Lost
[6] 152 30 England Nottingham, England Trent Bridge 1995 Drawn
[7] 179 31 England London, England Kennington Oval 1995 Drawn
[8] 132 38 Australia Perth, Australia W.A.C.A. Ground 1997 Won
[9] 103 42 India St John's, Antigua Antigua Recreation Ground 1997 Drawn
[10] 115 45 Sri Lanka Kingstown, Saint Vincent Arnos Vale Ground 1997 Drawn
[11] 213 61 Australia Kingston, Jamaica Sabina Park 1999 Won
[12] 153* 62 Australia Bridgetown, Barbados Kensington Oval 1999 Won
[13] 100 63 Australia St John's, Antigua Antigua Recreation Ground 1999 Lost
[14] 112 68 England Manchester, England Old Trafford 2000 Drawn
[15] 182 73 Australia Adelaide, Australia Adelaide Oval 2000 Lost
[16] 178 81 Sri Lanka Galle, Sri Lanka Galle Stadium 2001 Lost
[17] 221 83 Sri Lanka Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2001 Lost
[18] 130 83 Sri Lanka Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2001 Lost
[19] 110 91 Australia Georgetown, Guyana Bourda 2003 Lost
[20] 122 92 Australia Port of Spain, Trinidad Queen’s Park Oval 2003 Lost
[21] 209 95 Sri Lanka Gros Islet, Saint Lucia Beausejour Stadium 2003 Drawn
[22] 191 98 Zimbabwe Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Queen’s Sport Club 2003 Won
[23] 202 99 South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa New Wanderers Stadium 2003 Lost
[24] 115 101 South Africa Cape Town, South Africa Newlands 2004 Drawn
[25] 400* 106 England St John's, Antigua Antigua Recreation Ground 2004 Drawn
[26] 120 108 Bangladesh Kingston, Jamaica Sabina Park 2004 Won
[27] 196 113 South Africa Port of Spain, Trinidad Queen’s Park Oval 2005 Lost
[28] 176 114 South Africa Bridgetown, Barbados Kensington Oval 2005 Lost
[29] 130 116 Pakistan Bridgetown, Barbados Kensington Oval 2005 Won
[30] 153 117 Pakistan Kingston, Jamaica Sabina Park 2005 Lost
[31] 226 121 Australia Adelaide, Australia Adelaide Oval 2005 Lost
[32] 120 126 India Gros Islet, Saint Lucia Beausejour Stadium 2006 Drawn
[33] 122 129 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan Gadaffi Stadium 2006 Lost
[34] 216 130 Pakistan Multan, Pakistan Multan Cricket Stadium 2006 Drawn

One-Day International Centuries

ODI Centuries of Brian Lara
Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year
[1] 128 41 Pakistan Durban, South Africa Kingsmead 1993
[2] 111* 42 South Africa Bloemfontein, South Africa Springbok Park 1993
[3] 114 45 Pakistan Kingston, Jamaica Sabina Park 1993
[4] 153 54 Pakistan Sharjah, UAE Sharjah C.A. Stadium 1993
[5] 139 83 Australia Port of Spain, Trinidad Queen’s Park Oval 1995
[6] 169 90 Sri Lanka Sharjah, UAE Sharjah C.A. Stadium 1995
[7] 111 96 South Africa Karachi, Pakistan National Stadium 1996
[8] 146* 100 New Zealand Port of Spain, Trinidad Queen’s Park Oval 1996
[9] 104 102 New Zealand Kingstown, Saint Vincent Arnos Vale Ground 1996
[10] 102 108 Australia Brisbane, Australia Brisbane Cricket Ground 1997
[11] 103* 109 Pakistan Perth, Australia W.A.C.A Ground 1997
[12] 110 125 England Bridgetown, Barbados Kensington Oval 1998
[13] 117 157 Bangladesh Dhaka, Bangladesh Bangabandhu National Stadium 1999
[14] 116* 176 Australia Sydney, Australia Sydney Cricket Ground 2001
[15] 111 202 Kenya Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2002
[16] 116 203 South Africa Cape Town, South Africa Newlands 2003
[17] 116 217 Sri Lanka Bridgetown, Barbados Kensington Oval 2003
[18] 113 219 Zimbabwe Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Queens Sports Club 2003
[19] 156 250 Pakistan Adelaide, Australia Adelaide Oval 2005

Man of the Match Awards

Test Cricket

Man of the Match Awards – Brian Lara
Runs Against City/Country Venue Result Year
[1] 277 Australia Sydney, Australia Sydney Cricket Ground Match Drawn 1993
[2] 167 England Georgetown, Guyana Bourda West Indies won by an innings and 44 runs 1993
[3] 375 England St John's, Antigua Antigua Recreation Ground Match Drawn 1993
[4] 179 England London, England Kennington Oval Match Drawn 1995
[5] 104 India St John’s, Antigua Antigua Recreation Ground Match Drawn 1997
[6] 213 Australia Kingston, Jamaica Sabina Park West Indies won by 10 wickets 1999
[7] 8/153* Australia Bridgetown, Barbados Kensington Oval West Indies won by 1 wicket 1999
[8] 221/130 Sri Lanka Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sport Club Ground Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets 2001
[9] 209 Sri Lanka Gros Islet, Saint Lucia Beausejour Stadium Match Drawn 2003
[10] 191/1 Zimbabwe Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Queens Sports Club West Indies won by 128 runs 2003
[11] 400* England St John’s, Antigua Antigua Recreation Ground Match Drawn 2004
[12] 226/17 Australia Adelaide, Australia Adelaide Oval Australia won by 7 wickets 2005

One-Day International Cricket

Man of the Match Awards – Brian Lara
Runs Against City/Country Venue Result Year
[1] 54 Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan National Stadium West Indies won by 24 runs 1991
[2] 69 Australia Brisbane, Australia Brisbane Cricket Ground West Indies won by 12 runs 1992
[3] 88 Pakistan Melbourne, Australia Melbourne Cricket Ground West Indies won by 10 wickets 1992
[4] 72 Zimbabwe Brisbane, Australia Brisbane Cricket Ground West Indies won by 75 runs 1992
[5] 86 South Africa Port of Spain, Trinidad Queens Park Oval West Indies won by 10 wickets 1992
[6] 128 Pakistan Durban, South Africa Kingsmead West Indies won by 124 runs 1993
[7] 111* South Africa Bloemfontein, South Africa Springbok Park West Indies won by 9 wickets 1993
[8] 114 Pakistan Kingston, Jamaica Sabina Park West Indies won by 4 wickets 1993
[9] 95* Pakistan Port of Spain, Trinidad Queens Park Oval West Indies won by 5 wickets 1993
[10] 153 Pakistan Sharjah, UAE Sharjah C.A. Stadium West Indies won by 6 wickets 1993
[11] 82 Sri Lanka Kolkata, India Eden Gardens West Indies won by 7 wickets 1993
[12] 55* New Zealand Auckland, New Zealand Eden Park West Indies won by 25 runs 1995
[13] 72 New Zealand Wellington, New Zealand Basin Reserve West Indies won by 41 runs 1995
[14] 139 Australia Port of Spain, Trinidad Queens Park Oval West Indies won by 133 runs 1995
[15] 169 Sri Lanka Sharjah, UAE Sharjah C. A. Stadium West Indies won by 4 runs 1995
[16] 111 South Africa Karachi, Pakistan National Stadium West Indies won by 19 runs 1996
[17] 146* New Zealand Port of Spain, Trinidad Queens Park Oval West Indies won by 7 wickets 1996
[18] 103* Pakistan Perth, Australia W.A.C.A Grounds West Indies won by 5 wickets 1997
[19] 90 Australia Perth, Australia W.A.C.A Grounds West Indies won by 4 wickets 1997
[20] 88 Pakistan Sharjah, UAE Sharjah C.A. Stadium West Indies won by 43 runs 1997
[21] 51 England Kingstown, Saint Vincent Arnos Vale Ground West Indies won by 4 wickets 1998
[22] 60 India Singapore Kallang Ground West Indies won by 42 runs 1999
[23] 117 Bangladesh Dhaka, Bangladesh Bangabandhu National Stadium West Indies won by 109 runs 1999
[24] 116* Australia Sydney, Australia Sydney Cricket Ground Australia won by 28 runs 2001
[25] 83* Zimbabwe Perth, Australia W.A.C.A Grounds West Indies won by 44 runs 2001
[26] 59* New Zealand Gros Islet, Saint Lucia Beausejour Stadium West Indies won by 7 wickets 2002
[27] 103* Kenya Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground West Indies won by 29 runs 2002
[28] 116 South Africa Cape Town, South Africa Newlands West Indies won by 3 runs 2003
[29] 80 Australia Port of Spain, Trinidad Queens Park Oval West Indies won by 39 runs 2003
[30] 156 Pakistan Adelaide, Australia Adelaide Oval West Indies won by 58 runs 2005

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Brian Lara".
  2. ^ "Genius of Brian Lara hailed by Wisden". TimesOnline.
  3. ^ "Farewell to legend Lara". The Sun.
  4. ^ "Most runs in an innings". www.cricinfo.com.
  5. ^ "Record-breaking Batsman and Captain of the West Indies Test Cricket team".
  6. ^ "West Indies Cricket Team".
  7. ^ "Most runs off one over". www.cricinfo.com.
  8. ^ "Wisden 100 hails Laxman, ignores Tendulkar". The Hindu.
  9. ^ Cricinfo, Highest Test Wicket-takers
  10. ^ Cricinfo, Highest ODI Wicket-takers
  11. ^ "Murali 'best bowler ever'". BBC Sport. 2002-12-13. Retrieved 2007-12-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "Lara a tougher opponent than Tendulkar: Murali". www.in.rediff.com.
  13. ^ "Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World".
  14. ^ "Sports Personality". BBC.
  15. ^ The Coming Foretold The Independent retrieved 30 July 2007
  16. ^ Profiles - IslandEvents.com - Profile: Brian Charles Lara - Mar 1, 2007
  17. ^ Murali: 'Lara's still No. 1'
  18. ^ 'I'm ready to play if best team is selected' - Lara
  19. ^ "ODI Batting Statistics".
  20. ^ Lara confirms one-day retirement BBC News retrieved 30 July 2007
  21. ^ Legend Lara to end Windies career BBC News retrieved 30 July 2007
  22. ^ McGrath rates Lara just ahead of Tendulkar retrieved 4 December 2007
  23. ^ Lara turns his back on cricket retrieved on 29 April 2007
  24. ^ West Indies v England BBC News retrieved 29 July 2007
  25. ^ Lara signs up for new Indian league
  26. ^ Lara did not cross the line
  27. ^ a b West Indies cricketer to receive honorary degree from UK University of Sheffield retrieved 30 July 2007 Brian Charles Lara, will be one of four persons to receive the highest award of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in July.
  28. ^ Cricinfo - Lee's jingle, Pup's Bingle
  29. ^ Highest Maiden Tons Stats from CricInfo, retrieved 30 July 2007
  30. ^ Most Test Runs Stats from CricInfo retrieved 30 July 2007
  31. ^ Fastest Test Runs Stats from CricInfo retrieved 30 July 2007
  32. ^ Most Test hundreds in a career
  33. ^ a b c Leading Test Batsmen Stats from CricInfo retrieved 30 July 2007
  34. ^ 100 Before Lunch Stats from CricInfo retrieved 30 July 2007
  35. ^ The Lara story in numbers CricInfo retrieved 30 July 2007
  36. ^ Highest Aggregate runs in series Stats from CricInfo retrieved 30 July 2007
  37. ^ 100s in each innings Stats from Cric Info retrieved 30 July 2007
  38. ^ http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_daily_features?id=56541818
  39. ^ Most Runs from One Over Stats from CricInfo retrieved 30 July 2007
  40. ^ Fastest test landmarks Stats from CricInfo retrieved 30 July 2007
  41. ^ Test Career catches Stats from CricInfo retrieved 29 March 2008
  42. ^ "PricewaterhouseCoopers".
  43. ^ "Top 100 Batsmen of all time". Cricket channel. rediff.com.
Preceded by West Indies Test cricket captains
1996/97–1999/2000
Succeeded by
Preceded by West Indies Test cricket captains
2002/2003–2004
Succeeded by
Preceded by West Indies Test cricket captains
2006–2007
Succeeded by
Preceded by World Record - Highest individual score in Test cricket
375 vs England at St John's 1993-94
400 not out vs England at St John's 2003-04
Succeeded by
Matthew Hayden
Lara is the current holder

Template:10000 Runs in Test Cricket Template:10000 Runs in ODI Cricket Template:10000 or more runs in Test and ODI Cricket Template:West Indian batsman with a Test batting average over 50