One of the most charismatic cricketers in the modern era, Brian Charles Lara was known not just for his classy batting, but also for the consistency with which he hit big hundreds. In fact, for long he was the lone performer for a West Indies team that had hit its lowest ebb in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Brian Lara regains Test cricket’s world record with his unbeaten 400 against England
On this day in 2004, Lara created a world record after reclaiming the world record of the biggest individual score in Test history when he scored 400 not out against England on April 12 in 2004 in Antigua. In the fourth Test of the series against England in St John’s, the West Indian became the first player to reclaim this record.
With the series already in England’s bag, Lara was under immense pressure as the West Indians were staring at a whitewash at home. But he decided to let the bat do the talking. By the end of Day 1, Lara helped West Indies finish with 208 for 2 and finished with 86 not out. On Day 2, he scored a triple hundred and West Indies were 595 for 5. On Day 3 he got to 400 and West Indies declared for 751/7. Lara finished his innings two minutes’ shy of 13 hours for the record. His unbeaten 400 included 43 fours and four sixes.
In reply, England were bowled out in the first innings for 288 and managed to eke out a draw as skipper Michael Vaughan hit a brilliant 140. The draw helped West Indies avoid the follow-on, but more importantly, it once again came to the fore that Lara was one of the most prolific run-getters to have played the gentleman’s game.
Australia opener Matthew Hayden, who had topped Lara’s 375 with a knock of 380 against Zimbabwe had held the record for just six months before Lara reclaimed it. Interestingly, Lara’s knock of 375 had also come against England at St. John’s in 1994.
