WI skipper Lara first Trini to 100 Tests

WEST INDIES captain Brian Charles Lara achieved two major milestones in his record-breaking Test career on the opening day of the Second Test against South Africa at the Kingsmead ground, Durban yesterday. The 34-year-old Lara became the first Trinidadian and 28th player to play in 100 Test matches. Apart from six other West Indians, there are seven Australians, seven Englishmen, four Indians and three Pakistanis who showed longevity in the grinding cauldron of modern Test cricket to be counted in the elite list of Test longest serving members. Co-incidentally, all the West Indian players who played in 100th Tests or more had served as captain of the Test team at some time during their inspiring careers. Lara becomes the fifth left-handed batsman to chalk up the century-match mark.

Yesterday, Lara stroked twelve superbly timed fours off 111 balls received before he gloved a catch to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher off a wicked lifting delivery from South Africa’s fastest bowler Makhaya Ntini. He had featured in an enterprising 98-run sixth wicket partnership with resolute Ridley Jacobs and took his Test aggregate to 8,905 runs. He moves ahead of England’s Graham Gooch 8,900 runs and is chasing India’s Sachin Tendulkar, who failed once again on the opening day of their Third Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket ground yesterday. Tendulkar received a Boxing Day’s “golden duck” when he was caught behind, by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, leg glancing at the first delivery he received from Australia’s speed merchant Brett Lee. The Indian megastar did not trouble the scorers and has Lara clipping at his heels as they chase more runs in their illustrious careers. The West Indian superstar is now only 15runs behind Tendulkar who is appearing in his 110 Tests.

The difference is that Tendulkar has batted 177 innings for 8,920 runs (31 centuries, 36 half-centuries) while Lara has chalked up 8,905 runs (23 centuries, 42 half-centuries) in 175 innings. The race between these two continues but Lara has struck a purple patch and is churning out runs at a phenomenal rate as he increases his year’s tally to 1343 runs and remains firmly at the top of the 2003 aggregate list. Inexplicably, 30-year-old Tendulkar has experienced the worst drought of his Test career and his woeful form has baffled everyone who following the fortunes of all cricketers, but more especially the “icons of modern cricket”. Among the specialists batsmen who have crossed the 100-test mark, only Border (11,174 runs, 156 Tests), Steve Waugh (10,788 runs, 166 Tests) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122 runs, 125 Tests) have scored more runs than Tendulkar and Lara.