In April 1994, Brian Charles Lara gave Trinidad and Tobago and most of the English-speaking Caribbean 375 reasons to celebrate.
Over two-and-a-half days at the fun Antigua Ground (ARG), he changed the cricket record books by becoming the new record holder for the highest individual score in a Test match.
From Santa Cruz to Sobo Village, Lara’s eclipsing of Sir Garry Sobers’ world record score of 365, which had stood for 36 years, sparked celebrations not often matched in 60 years of Independence. This action drove the calypsonians into song and the poets into composition.
The catch that sent England bowler Chris Lewis to the boundary to edge Lara past Sir Garry also became an iconic moment in world cricket history. Sobers’ record had stood for so long that it almost seemed as if it would stand forever. That was until an ambitious 24-year-old from the village of Cantaro set his sights on becoming a history maker.
Lara had signaled his intentions to break the record last year during the West Indies tour of Australia.
In the third Test in Sydney in January 1993, he produced one of his best-ever career innings – 277 – which ended only because of a run out. The Aussie bowlers, including future legend Shane Warne, looked unable to dismiss the “Port Prince of Spain”.
That knock not only highlighted the beauty of Lara’s game, but also his ability to hit relentlessly.
By the time the fourth Test against England in Antigua had arrived in April 1994, Lara had made just one more Test century, 167 in the second Test of the series in Guyana. However, his goal of getting a double or triple century in the new year was yet to be achieved. That would change in the fourth Test.
The foundation for the assault on Sobers’ record was laid on the first day of the ARG match which ended with Lara on 164.
Rain interruptions on day two slowed his progress but did nothing to break his concentration as Lara awoke on Monday, April 18, ready to resume his innings again at 320.
About 46 runs were still needed for history to be made. Lara was up early that morning plotting how to get them. The execution was probably not as smooth as he would have preferred. But at 11.46 a.m. when Lara went from level with Sobers at 365 to 369, all the anxieties of the morning were forgotten. A new superstar in world cricket was born. Sir Garry was on hand, walking the ground to offer personal, heartfelt congratulations. He could recognize a kindred spirit.
T&T, unused to having a cricketer of quite such quality, were beside themselves.
Sir Learie Constantine, Sonny Ramadhin, Jeffrey Stollmeyer, Deryck Murray, Larry Gomes, Gus Logie and others had paved the way as T&T pioneers. But center stage now belonged to Lara.
The accolades poured in.
A motorcade followed his return to Trinidad with hundreds lining the streets. Lara was also awarded the country’s highest honor at the time, the Trinity Cross, and a free trip worth $375,000 from the national airline, then called BWIA. He also received land on which he built a house and the town center was renamed Brian Lara Promenade. The Prince of the Port of Spain also received the keys to the city.
However, breaking Lara’s record was not achieved. Less than two months later, on 6 June, he scored the highest ever score in first-class cricket – 501 – in an English County Championship match for Warwickshire against Durham. And ten years after his ARG achievement, Lara, after losing his Test world record to Australia’s Matthew Hayden, regained it in the same ARG, becoming the first and still only man to score 400 runs in a Test.
Everything that came after those tours in 1994 was just lagniappe.
Lara’s place in cricket history was already sealed and Trinidad and Tobago had a performance the age could call its own.
