April 26, 1999
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WEST INDIES CAPTAIN BRAIN
LARA Lone Ranger Three centuries in the Test series versus Australia have rescued Lara's reputation, and galvanised the West Indies team. By Peter Roebuck
Now comes the turn of Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar. Neither man is playing for a fancied team yet the feeling lingers that these are fellows capable of rising to the occasion. If their teams can take them to the last four it could be enough for the genius and the master. They relish the great stage for which they were born or raised. Their preparations have been entirely different. Tendulkar has been injured and might need time to recapture his powers. Meanwhile Lara has been tripping the light fantastic and will arrive in England in the best form of his life. And Lara at his best is a sight for sore eyes, as Caribbean spectators this winter would testify. Seldom in the August annals of Test cricket has any batsman had a month to set beside the amazing performance of Brian Lara in March 1999. It began with the West Indies captain as near to disgrace as any cricketer can be who has not insulted a steward at Lord's. Lara had betrayed his talent and position and his team had lost 5-0 and 6-1 in South Africa. Never had West Indian cricket fallen so low. By the end of the month everything had changed. Far from being humiliated the West Indians had fought back and held a 2-1 lead against Australia, the world champions. Lara had batted with such poise and distinction that he had surpassed even the great innings of his youth, his 277 in Sydney and 375 in Antigua. Subsequent to those remarkable innings the brittleness that lay beneath had been revealed, the shallowness that was to bring a mother-raised child to his knees. Those epics were an expression of spoilt and brilliant youth. Suddenly Lara had put aside these indulgences. He had realised that prettiness alone is not enough, whereupon he contributed three memorable innings, each a statement of matured talent, 213 in Jamaica, 153 not out in Barbados and a sizzling century in Antigua. These innings were made of iron, not silk. It wasn't the size of those innings that caught the eye, or even the fact of them. Batsmen had scored successive hundreds before and Sir Everton Weekes once hit five in a row. Rather it was their variety that was remarkable, because it revealed an unsuspected range of skill and temperament. It was as if an actor had played drama, tragedy and comedy in successive performances and triumphed in each role. Lara's 213 at Sabina Park was notable for its skill and calm execution. Taken out of context it was not quite a masterpiece because the pitch was amiable and the bowling, Glenn McGrath apart, was undemanding. Imagining their opponents beaten, the Australians were complacent. They thought it was a formality and it became an embarrassment. Circumstances did not demand greatness of play but rigour of mind. After all the West Indians had been bowled out for 51 a few days earlier and overnight hovered precariously at 37-4. To bat through the next day and to spark a revival from this team was not the work of an impostor but of a man capable of reaching within himself and finding strength in the hour of need. Laziness had been Lara's undoing and he cast it aside as an animal does unwanted skin. It was an innings all the more impressive because it was craftsman-like rather than breathtaking. Lara had shown he cared. Throughout Sunday, March 14, Lara kept his wicket intact. The Australians waited for him to lose concentration and he did not. They waited for him to lose patience and he did not. Nor did he try any flashy strokes, instead putting his head down and putting runs on the board. Generally speaking the professional is a far more significant figure than the dilettante. Inspired, the West Indians easily overcame their rattled opponents. Lara had saved his captaincy, his reputation and, in some opinions, West Indies cricket. It hardly matters which was the greater motivation. It isn't for us to speculate or to imagine our own thoughts so pure. Had this been an isolated innings it would have been astonishing enough. Instead it was merely a beginning. A few days later the teams met again in Barbados, the West Indians' citadel. For three days the Australians dominated but did not crush their hosts. Even in the first Test match a new resilience could be detected in the West Indies team. Important changes had been made behind the scene. Far from sacking Lara as captain as expected, the West Indies board had given him two matches to prove himself, thereby throwing down a challenge to his wits and a lifeline to his pride. Recognising his faults, the board also decided to put some capable men around him and accordingly asked Dr Rudi Webster, a radiologist whose varied life had included helping sportsmen, advising governments and serving as an ambassador in the US, to lend a hand. Webster went to work with his youthful charge. Rather than castigating him for his excesses, he reminded Lara of his abilities and achievements. Most particularly he gave Lara footage of his great innings in Sydney. Lara had never watched that innings and the film stirred something within, recollection of times past and dreams forgotten. Thereafter Lara showed higher commitment on the field and off it. Accordingly the West Indians did not lie down in Barbados. Instead they bowled the Australians out cheaply but still needed 308 to win, a target they had never reached in such circumstances. Lara promptly played the best innings of its type I've seen. Taking complete command from the outset and responding to the challenge, he imposed himself on his opponents with a stunning mixture of aggression and defence. Lara protected his partners brilliantly and kept his nerve throughout an agonising day. It was a magnificent attacking innings and it brought victory in the dying minutes with only one wicket remaining. And then Barbados celebrated and West Indian cricket celebrated as if a siege had been lifted and food found. Unsurprisingly these efforts took their toll upon the West Indians as they arrived in Antigua for the last Test a few days later. It is not easy to keep rising. Lara was weary. Realising this, he batted in a different style entirely, thrashing the bowling and scoring 100 in 82 balls. It was an exhilarating performance but something solid had been needed, an occupation of the crease to protect that 2-1 lead. But Lara's choice's was understandable because he had given his all. Unfortunately his teammates could not respond and the Australians squared the series. Perhaps it was just as well for otherwise the West Indians could have persuaded themselves their problems were over. In a few weeks and with a few memorable innings Lara had rediscovered himself. During the course of the series he had fought three battles, with the incomparable McGrath, with Steve Waugh and with himself. Suffice to say that all of those battles had been won, the third with flying colours. Now the hard work begins. EXTRAS TIGER PATAUDI'S VIEWS ON THE WORLD
CUP: Why do we always collapse against Pakistan? Who do you think will win the cup? Do you think the Indians are playing too much
cricket? SUBSTITUTE COMMENTATOR AT THE WORLD CUP THE FIRST... ... hat-trick was taken by Chetan Sharma against New Zealand at Nagpur in 1987. ... time coloured clothing, day-night matches, 30-yard circle and white balls featured was in 1992. LORD'S THEN... AND NOW
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Can a single
batsman win a World Cup? Can one man catch the mood, catch the hour and take the day with
batting so inspired that the outcome is irresistible? It hardly seems possible because
these tournaments bring together the dominant players of the age and there cannot be that
much among them. And yet experience tells us a different story, a tale of Clive Lloyd at
Lord's in 1975 and Viv Richards four years later, of Inzamam-ul-Huq at Auckland and
Melbourne in 1992 and Aravinda De Silva in Calcutta and Lahore last time around. These
players did not win the cup themselves but they did dictate terms in the final and
sometimes in the semi-final too. 
