Villagers celebrate homeboy record

The sleepy village of Sam Boucaud, Santa Cruz came to life yesterday with jubilant screams and cheers as home boy and West Indian star batsman, Brian Lara hit the ball to the boundary for four, taking his score up to 400 runs, establishing a new world record for the most runs made by a batsman in a test series. The noise was deafening. Horns blared as motorists made their way around the block, a Trinidad and Tobago flag leading the procession. Their boy Lara had done it again! At the Brian Lara Recreation Ground, Terry Johnson and Ranjit Soondarsingh, hurried to change the score on the makeshift score board from the previous 375 runs, record holding score, to the new score of 400, as other villagers practically danced in the streets.

However, no one doubted that their hero would reach his mark. Said Soondarsingh, “we believed that he would always get there. It was just a matter of time. “People will say that he wasn’t doing as well as he should have been, but he was carrying a big load on his shoulders, not getting the support from the other players that he should have and still he delivered today.” According to Soon-darsingh, it was a sleepless night for many, whose anxiety kept them awake as Lara ended the day’s play on Sunday on 313 runs. “We were waiting for this to happen,” he said. “We all knew that the 381 was reachable, but a few people were biting their finger nails.

“We knew he would break it again.” The scene at D’Platform, a liming spot owned by Lara’s older brother, Win-ston, was reminiscent of Carnival Friday night, as drinks flowed like water. The television set remained on to follow the progress of the England batsman, but few noticed what was going on. “I always expected Brian to do something like this again,” Winston Lara said, “he always had that kind of aspiration. It just happened sooner than I thought.” Winston revealed that he had spoken to his younger brother a few days before the final test match, and noted that despite his team’s resounding defeat at the hands of the English, Brian remained positive about their  performance in the last match.

Winston said, “Brian thinks more about West Indies cricket and about the game than personal achievement. He has always been a positive person.” He expressed his belief that Brian’s record-breaking performance would help to improve the team’s performance in the upcoming One-day series. Yet another Lara brother, Lyndon, spoke highly of his brother’s performance, noting that his brother had fallen prey to disparaging remarks from persons who did not really know the kind of person he was.

“Brian is a family person,” he revealed, “and he is very introverted. The fact that he has broken records means that he has now become a public figure so he has to behave in a particular way. “This is a great achievement for the West Indies, for Trinidad and for Santa Cruz,” he stated. Lara’s younger sister, Agnes, had hoped to be in Antigua to witness her brother’s victory. However due to a delayed flight, she was not there to see history being made.