5 times cricket was tainted with racism

Windies' shock defeat to Kenya, Outlook Magazine lays racist claim on Lara

Brian Lara denied the racist remarks attributed to him in the 'Outlook' story.

A shock defeat for the once mighty West Indies at the hands of an amateurish Kenyan side in the 1996 World Cup. In the midst of it was none other than Brian Lara, batting genius, but irresponsible on the day, playing and missing aimlessly until gifting an edge to the wicket-keeper. An innings that would have deserved a lot of criticism. However, the headlines had something else in store for Lara.

Following the defeat, the Outlook magazine ran a story about Brian Lara’s visit to the Kenyan dressing room. During his interaction with the Kenyans, among many things, Lara was alleged to have told them: "It wasn’t that bad losing to you guys. You are black. Know what I mean. Now a team like South Africa is a different matter altogether. You know, this white thing comes into the picture. We can’t stand losing to them". However, this was denied by Lara, who clarified he had gone to the Kenyan dressing room to congratulate them and said, "Losing to you guys hurt badly but it wasn't the worst day of my life. The worst was losing to South Africa in the 1992 World Cup because I realised we weren't going to qualify for the semis"