Brian Charles Lara

[self_shattered]

Brian Lara

West Indies

Player profile

Full name Brian Charles Lara
Born May 2, 1969, Cantaro, Santa Cruz, Trinidad
Current age 37 years 286 days
Major teams West Indies, ICC World XI, Northern Transvaal, Trinidad & Tobago, Warwickshire
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Legbreak googly

Statsguru Test player, ODI player

Batting and fielding averages
class mat inns no runs hs ave bf sr 100 50 4s 6s ct st
Tests 131 232 6 11953 400* 52.88 19753 60.51 34 48 1559 88 164 0
ODIs 290 281 31 10136 169 40.54 12756 79.46 19 62 1016 128 115 0
First-class 259 437 11 21971 501* 51.57 64 87 317 0
List A 419 402 42 14333 169 39.81 27 85 172 0



Career statistics
Statsguru Tests filter | Statsguru One-Day Internationals filter
Test debut Pakistan v West Indies at Lahore - Dec 6-11, 1990 scorecard
Last Test Pakistan v West Indies at Karachi - Nov 27-Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
ODI debut Pakistan v West Indies at Karachi - Nov 9, 1990 scorecard
Last ODI India v West Indies at Vadodara - Jan 31, 2007 scorecard
First-class span 1987/88 - 2006/07
List A span 1987/88 - 2006/07

Notes
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1995

Profile

No-one since Bradman has built massive scores as often and as fast as Lara in his pomp. 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. Then the guillotine would fall, sending the ball flashing to the boundary. 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. 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. For a while, excess weight and hamstring problems hampered his once-lightning footwork, and the torrent of runs became an occasional spurt. 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.

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. He led them to defeat for a second time in South Africa, and then lost to England in the Caribbean, too. 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. 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.

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. They responded in the following game, and Lara captained the side in England, where the team was beaten in every Test they played. 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. 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. Then in April 2006, after protracted dispute between the West Indies board and the players union (WIPA), he was reinstated - for the third time - as West Indies captain. Lara's leadership in the five-match one-day home series against India came in for much praise as the tourists were knocked over 4-1, but in the succeeding Test series he struggled. His captaincy was erratic - inspiring in parts, questionable on many occasions - though he later revealed that his hands were tied due to peripheral issues related to team selection. The bottom line, however, was an average of 26.37; a poor showing for a player of Lara's calibre. His 120 at St Lucia was a lesson in application, helping West Indies hang on for a draw, but he had a poor series overall, hardly looking the awesome force that he once was.

[NIGHT_CRAWLER]

AMAR MONE HOI, WORLD-ER 98% LEFT-HANDED PLAYER-ER IDLE HOLO BRIAN LARA. HE IS A AWESOME PERFORMER. 'BEST LEFT-HANDED BATSMAN 4 ALL TIME'- THIS AWARD SHOULD GIVEN 2 HIM.