Brian Lara: A tribute to 15 years of fine cricket

Pakistan won the cricket World cup in 1992. Up till then I didn’t give a damn about cricket, I barely even knew the rules. But all that changed when England was bowled out for 227 in Melbourne and Imran Khan held that Waterford crystal trophy over his head. I vividly remember watching the match live at my grandparents’ house in Quetta. There was a young kid by the name of Inzamam who refused to wear a helmet and would chew gum while batting. “How unorthodox and improper” I’m sure most cricket purists at the time thought. I was simply impressed by his ballsy stroke play and his ability to rack on those precious runs. All of a sudden, I was really into cricket!

2 years earlier in Lahore, Brian Lara was making his test debut. The mighty West Indies had gone a decade without losing a single test series during the 80’s and had won 2 of the 4 cricket world cups held up till then. They had the likes of Vivian Richards, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh on their side. Not only did they have strong batting and bowling. I remember thinking what amazing fielders they were. Only they at the time were able to collect balls mid-flight while still running (I also remember thinking this was unfair to other teams since they didn’t have as long arms as the West Indians, who were the only black cricket team at the time). As it turned out, a steady fall from the top was in the cards for the Windies. And yet, over this same time, Brian Lara was to become one of the World’s premier batsmen. His rise happened to coincide with my new interest in cricket. I almost feel like I grew up having Brian Lara around because I’ve been watching him play since I was 12. And what a spectacular player he has proved to be! Every time he came to the crease against Pakistan, I would pray for an early dismissal because I knew his potential. A good Lara inning could change the outcome of a match, sometimes single-handedly. Yesterday en route to his knock of 226 off 298 balls against World No. 1 Australia, Lara broke the all-time record for highest test run scorer, adding to his other all-time records for highest test score (400 not out) and first-class score (501). Hell, he now has 8 double centuries in test cricket, that might be an all-time record in itself (OK, I checked. He is second after Donald Bradman). Congratulations Brian and well done! I’m going to continue to be a Windies fan as long as you play cricket!