But it was under Shivnarine Chanderpaul that Lara registered his next big moment - in Adelaide in November 2005, when he went past Allan Border's tally of 11174 runs to become Test cricket's most prolific scorer. Astonishingly, he then galvanised his charges and led the one-day team to victory in the ICC Champions Trophy to spark off hopes of a West Indies resurgence. They responded in the following game, and Lara captained the side in England, where the team was beaten in every Test they played.
#Brian lara cricket/2001 series
Then followed a spectacular low, when Bangladesh came visiting and had West Indies in trouble in the one-day series and the first Test, prompting Lara to threaten his resignation if his batsmen did not lift their game. In doing so, he became the first man to reclaim the world Test batting record, a feat that ensured he would stand alongside Shane Warne as the most charismatic cricketer of the modern era. But then, just when all hope seemed to have deserted West Indies cricket, Lara responded to the prospect of a home series whitewash with an astonishing unbeaten 400 in the final Test against England in Antigua. He led them to defeat for a second time in South Africa, and then lost to England in the Caribbean, too. The task proved as hard second time round, leading a side where he was far and away the best player and where discipline was a constant worry. But after Garry Sobers suggested a tweak to his flourishing backlift, Lara returned to his best in Sri Lanka in 2001-02, with 221 and 130 in one Test and 688 runs - a record 42% of West Indies' output - in the series, and reclaimed the captaincy the following year.
#Brian lara cricket/2001 torrent
For a while, excess weight and hamstring problems hampered his once-lightning footwork, and the torrent of runs became an occasional spurt. During an inventive but largely fruitless spell as captain of a fading team, Lara reiterated his genius by single-handedly defying the 1998-99 Australian tourists with a sequence of 213, 8, 153 not out and 100. In the space of two months in 1994, Lara's 375 and 501 not out broke world records for the highest Test and first-class scores, but sudden fame turned him into a confused and contradictory figure.
Then the guillotine would fall, sending the ball flashing to the boundary. Even his stance was thrilling - the bat raised high in the air, the weight poised on a bent front knee, the eyes low and level. No-one since Bradman has built massive scores as often and as fast as Lara in his pomp. In that year he made his Test debut, scoring 44 and 6 against Pakistan. In 1990, aged 20, Lara became Trinidad and Tobago's youngest captain, leading them to victory in the Geddes Grant Shield. A year later he was in the West Indies Under-19 side. Aged 14, he made 745 runs at 126.16, earning him selection for the Trinidad Under-16 team. He bowled 12 dot balls and conceded only two runs.The 10th of 11 children, Brian Lara learnt his game at the Harvard Coaching Clinic, where he was enrolled at the age of six, and although at school he played for Trinidad's junior football and table tennis side, it was cricket which really drew him. Soon, Adil Rashid unleashed one of the best spells of T20 spin bowling to capture four wickets in his quota of 2.2 overs. With pacers Tymal Mills, Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan also pitching in with regular wickets from the other end, the West Indies backbone was jolted without many runs on the board. His figures of 2/17 in four overs included wickets of Simmons and Shimron Hetmyer. Moeen Ali bowled a superb line with clever variations in pace to dismantle the top-order. Openers Evin Lewis and Lendl Simmons showed signs of maturity initially, but that lasted for just an over. As a West Indian, I'm very disappointed."Įoin Morgan won the toss and decided to put the West Indies batting to test at the Dubai International Stadium. Losing all 10 wickets for just 55 runs, Lara said during a Star Sports show covering the match, "It was disappointing, it was reckless, I don't have words to describe this. West Indies' batting collapsed like a pack of cards as England bowlers enjoyed a field day after winning the toss. Former West Indies captain Brian Lara wasn't impressed after watching his country fold for just 55 runs in the first innings of their opening match against England in Dubai in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021.