Profile
One look at Brian Charles Lara's Test scores, and there is no
doubt in one's mind that here is a batsman with a vociferous appetite
for runs. In the year 1994, he broke his countryman Gary Sobers' long
standing record for many decades by scoring a brilliant 375. As if to
prove that this was not a fluke, he followed it up with an unbeaten 501
in a first class match for Warwickshire the following season. In 2004,
Lara became the first batsman to reclaim the highest individual Test
score record by scoring a 400 against England, in the process breaking
Hayden's 380.
Lara's attitude towards cricket can be best
described as moody brilliance. To go with the above records, he is
probably the only batsman to have tackled Murali the way he did, scoring
600-odd runs in a three match series in Sri Lanka, his innings
epitomized by quicksilver feet movement. And then there were times, when
he looked good to be anywhere but the batting crease, almost as if his
mind's not on the job. As if to drive home a point, Lara's overall Test
average of almost 53 is not too dissimilar from his 51 against the
Aussies, and it was only 41 against NZ.
Brian Lara's ODI record
of more than 10,000 runs at an average of almost 41 was equally great,
but somehow, his amazing Test innings overshadowed the same.
Incidentally, Lara became the second batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar to
score more than 10,000 runs in both forms of the game
On retirement, Lara is one of the few cricketers, whose Test average was more than his First Class one!
Statistics
Show:
| |
Matches |
Innings |
Runs |
NO |
Avg. |
SR |
100's |
50's |
HS |
| Test |
131 |
232 |
11953 |
6 |
52.88 |
60.50 |
34 |
48 |
400* |
| ODI |
299 |
289 |
10405 |
32 |
40.48 |
79.51 |
19 |
63 |
169 |
Career
Span:
- Test:
- 1990-2006
- ODI:
- 1990-2007
- Test
-
- Debut:
- West Indies Vs Pakistan at Gaddafi Stadium (Lahore Stadium), Lahore - Dec 06, 1990
- Last played:
- West Indies Vs Pakistan at National Stadium, Karachi - Nov 27, 2006
- ODI
-
- Debut:
- West Indies Vs Pakistan at National Stadium, Karachi - Nov 09, 1990
- Last played:
- West Indies Vs England at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown - Barbados - Apr 21, 2007
