Brian Charles Lara, the name which brings fond memories of professional cricket to your mind. The name that inspires millions of cricketing people around the world and name which replaced many names in the cricket record books.
The following is what wikipedia had to say about this great legend
Brian Charles Lara(born May 2, 1969)(nicknamed "The Prince of Port-of-Spain" or simply "The Prince") is a record-breaking cricketer who is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen ever. He has topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds two of the most prestigious World Records for batting in Tests: highest individual innings and the all-time leading run scorer.[1] He also holds the record for the highest individual score in first class cricket, with a total of 501 for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994.
At a glance, Lara is currently the highest run getter in Test cricket with a whopping 11953 runs in 131 matches at an amazing average of 52.88 with 34 hundreds and 48 fifties. In the limited version of the game, he has 10405 runs to his credit in 299 matches with an average of 40.48. He holds the record of highest runs in an innings with 400 N.O against England and also holds the records for highest individual score in a first class match with an unbelievable score of 501 N.O
What inspires me most about this man is that he has played a lot many crucial matches for WI and won/saved matches single handedly. A lot many times he was placed in a pressure situation and he responded well with handling them in ease. What I like in Lara is that he was able to deliver for the team when it mattered most. No one can forget the tour of WI to Srilanka where he scored 688 runs(42% of the total team score) in 2001-2002 and the way he tormented the Aussies with 364 runs in the tour of 1998-99.
As a captain, he inspired his team many a time . Remember the way he inspired his team to a series win against India with a margin of 4-1(remember, the first match was won by the Indians). And who can forget that famous win in the ICC Champions Trophy in England.(As far as I remember, this is the first time that a WI team has won a major tournament since 1979. Correct me if I am wrong)
He has always been a team player and with the limited powers vested on him, he has tried his level best to raise the WI cricket standards.And quite amazingly, the runs he has scored even at the test cricket level has come at a blistering pace. However great the bowlers might be, Lara has always had an edge over them. He has been a true spectator’s delight.
This legend announced his retirement from international cricket from 21/04/07 . I feel his position as a legend, abundantly gifted cricketer, a team player and an inspiring captain will take a long time to be filled. In fact, I don’t believe WI cricket will ever find some one of the calibre of Lara in the near future.
As he walked towards the pitch for one last time yesterday, I could not withstand my feeling to get up and give respect to this true legend and one of the finest players ever in the cricketing world. But it was really sad that his exit has to be in the form of run out, that too which was not his error.
Marlon Samuels will be remembered(read: cursed) for long by everyone in the Windies for getting Lara run out. Lara proved again here that he is truly self less. He did not watch the ball, instead he responded to his team mate and did not want to have Samuels sacrifice his wicket, even though he knew that it was his last match.
Lara is often compared with Sachin and Inzimam for his greatness, but If at all Lara gets a ranking lower than these guys, I am sure that it will be mainly for non cricketing reasons.
As with every individual, Lara has also has his own Pros and Cons. Ironically, his personal life has not been flawless as his cricketing career. And at some times, he struggled in his captaincy and seemed to have run out of ideas.( of course given the limitations, this could be accepted to certain level. But still, this will go into the record books as one of his cons)
I wonder if he had been with a team like Australia / South Africa, he could have amazzed more runs and we could have seen a better player in him.
As this southpaw bows down from cricket, I feel that we have lost an charming batsman who was a true entertainer, a great Sportsman, an inspiring captain and aptly called "THE PRINCE ".
Join me in saying bid adieu to this Cricketing Genius who will be missed by the cricketing world for a very long time.
*Bye bye Lara. Good luck and God speed to you.
*P.S: you can get more statistics about Lara from the following web sites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Lara
https://content-usa.cricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/52337.html