The Prince of West Indies: Revisiting Brian Lara's lofty peaks

The romantics of cricket would argue that it is a batsman's game made thrilling by bowlers. In the constant struggle for supremacy in the contest of bat versus ball, several talents have lifted the spirit of the contest displaying unparallel skills with the willow.

The likes of Ponting, Jayasuriya, Hayden and Sehwag made batting look easy and made light work of their bowling opposition, scoring rapidly. Then there are batsmen who played with élan, exhibiting an oasis of calm under intense situations.

You would count the Saeed Anwar's, Dravid's, Laxman's and Alistair Cook's into this category. Who can undo the shadow of God of Cricket from blanketing the game with pure greatness!

But as you sift past cricket's magnanimous repository of versatile batsmen, you'd always halt, glare and take cognizance of a special clan of batsmen who exuded a warrior like aura. And truth be told, there aren't many who feature in this special league, save for a certain Brian Charles Lara.

An all time legend, a batsman possessing a vociferous appetite to score big runs and a multiple-record breaker! West Indies hero Brian Lara is all that and more. The man who turns 47 on May 2 and one who retired almost a decade back from international cricket still continues to be a global superstar and among all-time legends Cricket has ever produced.

We revisit the many majestic highlights of Lara's stellar career in an earnest tribute:

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1. Lara writes history books at Antigua: page 375

A batting prodigy, many felt Lara was marked for greatness. And he demonstrated a fierce appetite to gun for great glories from the beginning of his checkered career. In the summer of 1994, during England's tour of the West Indies, during the fifth and final test of the Wisden trophy, Antigua was the place to be at.

Brian Lara, a young batting star emerging on the West Indian galaxy had cut loose on the big stage.

In his masterpiece at Antigua's rather flat pitched surface, Lara tamed the likes of Chris Lewis, Andy Caddick, Angus Fraser and Phill Tufnell, displaying extraordinary skill on his way to a record-breaking 375, punctuated by 45 boundaries. Going 10 runs past Sobers, an all-time West Indies legend, Lara was the new star on the horizon.

Displaying tenacity, a hallmark trait of his personality, Lara batted for 766 minutes at the crease on way to scoring his highest individual test score.

2. Lara tames Murali at Sri Lanka, 2001-02 series

Often a lonely soldier waned by his team's mediocre showing with the bat, Lara did the bulwark of his side's scoring. What many held as a 'burden' of carrying an entire team's batting weightage on his shoulders, Lara saw an incredible opportunity and he regaled at being challenged .

In a series most noticeably hyped by the roaring battle of Murali's spin and Lara's willow, West Indies were completely dominated by a stellar Murali and Vaas show, losing the series haplessly.

But the only thing they could salvage from an otherwise distraught 3 test- match tour, was the man who commanded all headlines: Brian Charles Lara.

Scoring a mind-boggling 688 runs from 3 tests, Lara essayed some of the most pivotal knocks of his career, scoring mightily against the Sri Lankan duo who sent his side packing. In the process of displaying Lara's 221, 178, 130, Lara not only compiled 53 percent of the runs an entire West Indies team managed but came right on top of Murali's spin puzzles and the damning pace of Chaminda Vaas that his compatriots failed to tackle.

Lara sighted that the first 45 minutes at the crease were key to tackle Murali. If he would see Lara still on the crease beyond that, his confidence would begin to ebb away. The stylish leftie swept away the imposing pressure of Murali in his tremendous conjuring of runs at Sri Lanka

3. Taking on Warne and McGrath and booking a place in Wisden's top 100 list

Stats suggest that Warne and McGrath did keep Lara in check but with limited success against him in tests. Some of Brian's greatest knocks have come against an Australia marveling at the skill and combined talents of their two bowling legends.

Of all the best bowler's he's played against, Lara has scored at a rate of 62 against Warne and 38.5 against McGrath, losing his wicket on most occasions to former South Africa seamer Andre Nel who dismissed him on 8 occasions. Even Murali and Vaas haven't been able to topple Lara at the crease with such precision.

Perhaps playing one of the most vital knocks ever in test cricket history, during 1999, Brian Lara essayed an absolute scorcher under a beaming Barbados sun. Following on his gorgeous 213 at Jamaica amidst rousing clamour for his axing from West Indian captaincy and the national side in lines with West Indies' distraught 5 nil loss against South Africa, Lara sang the redemption song with his 153 not out.

A test match that read mostly like Michael Jackson's thriller and one which could have gone either way, especially with West Indies first reducing Aussies for 146 in second innings and then finding themselves at 98-6 in the second innings during their 308 run target, Lara stood between West Indies and Australia.

In what has been described by both Mark Waugh and the revered Wisden's best 100 test knocks, Lara's majestic 153 scaled a tall order. Punishing against Warne and bitter his disdain of Glenn McGrath's bowling, Lara cut, swept and lashed outscoring the winning runs for West Indies and reigning supreme under most adverse times for his own self and for West Indies.

4. Countering Pakistan during his last overseas tour

In his famous career, Lara, who's seen several ups and downs, reserved a special liking to score heavily overseas. Even when he was 35, a year after his reclaiming of his test best, a magnificent 400, Lara's exuberant stroke-play was at full verve during the Windies tour to Pakistan, 2006.

Lara played some delightfully wonderful knocks, offering an exposition of dominating batting at Lahore, Multan and Karachi in his compilation of 61, 122, 216 and 49.

An experienced campaigner, but also a tireless soldier, Lara, now in the company of Gayle and Ganga, the rising stars of a West Indies determined to find its lost groove gave fans a treasure trove of memories in his one-sided battles against the dazed and confused Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul and Danish Kaneria.

The man who began his career in 1993 against Pakistan, ended his final overseas tour against Pakistan but amidst the boisterous rousing rabble in stands that echoed, "Lara, Lara".

5. Bridgetown, Barbados answer's Lara's query, April 21, 2007

It is a damning indignation to note that the team Lara healed and sobered, saved and beautified by his many masterstrokes couldn't add to the tally of his successes.

As a captain, Lara's journey would often be stifled by poor showings in both departments of the game, with critics going on to anoint Lara as the aloof figure responsible for the half-heartedness of a seemingly hapless Windies.

One of the saddest blows to Brian would come in the West Indies' hosting of the 2007 World cup, a tournament where they failed to advance into the semi's.

Playing his last international game against a Kevin Pietersen powered England, Lara's walk back to the pavilion after being run out but a needless entanglement with Marlon Samuels was one of modern cricket's heaviest moment.

It signaled the end of an era and curtains on a career that soared and skyrocketed to international fame for 14 long years.

At the presentation ceremony, after his side's 1 wicket loss, Lara asked the audience, "Did I entertain". The reply Lara got from hundreds and thousands who had gathered to see their favorite hero resonated the voice of fans world over, who sought joy from Lara's heroics.

Here is Brian Lara, in all his majesty, like a beautifully carved masterpiece that evokes as much jubilation as a tint of pain. His journey as a selfless soldier of the West Indies is one that brings boundless joys. But then, arduous is the path where glory lies. Lara, it has to be said was a mighty climber on this path.