Lara's dream century

WHEN it finally happened at the Oval yesterday, it produced one of cricket's most emotional and memorable moments: TT's batting hero Brian Lara scoring his first Test century before his home crowd. It was the eventual fulfillment of a dream, both for the record-breaking batting star and for the multitude of his fans in Trinidad and Tobago, an achievement that had remained elusive in the 19 previous Test innings he played at the Oval. The thousands who savoured the spectacle of his gallant 122 against the Aussies on Tuesday and yesterday have been enriched by cricketing memories they will never forget. The crowning moment came when he drove spinner MacGill to the mid-on boundary for four, taking him past that magical score and climaxing a connection between batsman and spectators the like of which the Oval had never seen before.

Lara's journey to that special summit created a drama all its own, eclipsing thoughts that the West Indies, given a target of 407 to win, could possibly pull off a miraculous win. The TT batting star first came close to making it in 1996 when he reached 93 against the Pakistanis. And in the first innings of this match, he again entered the "nervous nineties" but was bowled behind his legs at 91 attempting to sweep Hogg to the boundary. Yesterday, the large Oval crowd helped their hero to fulfil his dream by supporting him all along the way, particularly when, in the nineties again, he had to face a hostile barrage from Brett Lee. At 94, once more on the verge of achieving what all Test batsmen dream about, Lara had to survive one upsetting hurdle, a bouncer attack from Lee, three of which struck him on the body.

In that dramatic duel, the Oval crowd came to Lara's assistance by chanting and cheering and clapping him as he dealt with Lee's dangerously rising deliveries. In all its glorious history, the Oval had never seen anything like it. When he eventually consigned MacGill to the boundary to create new cricketing history on his home ground, Lara's delight was unconfined. He punched the air in glee. And then proceeded to thank the crowd for their support, particularly in those tense moments, by a gesture that no one at the Oval will forget. Laying his bat down and removing his helmet, Lara responded by clapping his supporters as he made a 360-degree turn at the wicket. It may be unfortunate that Lara's magnificent effort in this match was not enough to keep our chances alive of winning back the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy. The Windies went down to defeat again, this time by 118 runs, which does not reflect the overwhelming performance of the Aussies who declared in both their innings of 576 for four and 238 for three. Even if the Windies happen to win the next two Tests in Barbados and Antigua, the Australians, as current holders, will retain the coveted trophy.

These matches now tell a different story about the home team. Where once our batting was brittle and our fast bowlers, the last two being Ambrose and Walsh, were a formidable weapon, striking fear in the hearts of the world's best batsmen, the situation is now sadly reversed. The quality of Windies batting has significantly improved, but our pace bowlers no longer seem to possess the fire and penetration of their predecessors. However, for TT cricket fans especially, this match has provided ample compensations. We have had the pleasure of seeing Lara at his stroke-playing best and the full justification of his choice as captain. We remain optimistic about the future but we must find worthy successors to Walsh and Ambrose.