Legends of Cricket: Brian Lara - part 2
Lara had a unique batting stance unlike any other batsman in cricket. He thrilled the world with his wide-ranging left handed batting and scored runs with such ease that at times even the best bowlers in cricket were left wondering how they got hit all over
the park. His batting stance was as beautiful to look at as his stroke play; Lara would keep his bat raised high in the air before the ball was bowled, all the while positioning his weight onto his bent front knee, balancing himself with the grace a true master,
while his eyes remained focused and level at all times. His stance, though unorthodox was absolutely lethal and he terrorized bowlers the world over with his brilliance with the bat and his master stroke play.
Having started playing the sport that was the love of his life at the age of six, it surprised none that the
Prince of Port-of-Spain would become one of the greatest players to have ever played the game of cricket. Lara started his journey towards cricket by learning the basics of the “trade” so to speak, at an early age. His father got him enrolled into
the Harvard Coaching Clinic where he honed his batting technique with weekly sessions provided by expert coaches. However, it was not until he had reached the age of 14 that Lara took a leap into the world of cricket. Lara was already playing for Trinidad
and Tobago’s junior football and table tennis teams, but from an early age he had decided that he would play cricket, so that he may emulate the feats of his heroes, the legendary West Indian batsmen Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge.
While at Fatima college in Port-au-Prince, Lara amassed 745 runs in the schoolboy league and was subsequently called to the Trinidad national under-16 team. A year later, Lara was playing cricket in the under-19 team. After scoring a record breaking 498
runs at the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 Youth Championships in 1987, Lara had made himself get noticed by the selectors. A year later he represented the Trinidad national team which led to his test call up. However, this was precisely when Lara’s father passed away and he
was forced to withdraw from the test call up and instead represented the West Indies B team.
In 1990, Lara became the youngest captain of Trinidad and Tobago at the age of 20 and that was when he also got the chance to play for the West Indies national side. Lara made his debut against an unpredictable yet strong http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 team and made 44 and 6
in the first test match. This is when Lara entered the world of cricket at the international level and cricketing pundits and those that mattered, began to take notice of his talent. Two years later Lara played his first worldcup where he averaged a brilliant
47.57 and his highest score in the tournament was 88.
The defining moment in Lara’s test career came when in 1993 he stepped up to play the seemingly unstoppable might Australians in Sydney. Lara’s team were losing the series 1-0 and Lara came to the crease. Against one of the toughest bowling attacks on the
planet, Lara scored 277 to mark his maiden test century, a brilliantly played innings and completely turned things around for his team who went on to win the series 2-1.
Lara had availed his chance at playing test cricket and was making a mark on the cricketing world with magnificent shot-making and fast scoring innings. The next season Lara truly dominated the world of cricket. In the space of two months, Lara scored 375
against England in a test match and 501 runs against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Durham-c782 in a first class match. These were the highest score of all time both in test cricket and in first class cricket. For his innings of 501 against Durham, Lara scored a total of 10 sixes and 62 fours
as he completely decimated the Durham bowling attack. This was the time when Lara was at his most magnificent best and he intimidate bowlers the world over with his shot-making and batting style. Lara was a treat to watch. A master at his very best. Lara was
in a class of his own scoring freely and at a devastatingly fast pace. Only the great Sir Don Bradman could match Lara’s style of playing at this moment. His shot selecting and execution was impeccable and Lara was making sure that he would be remembered as
one of the greatest players to have ever played the game.
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