honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
I guess we should start one of these everytime a legend of the game retires from all international cricket.
Brian Lara is one of a kind, in more senses than one. It was not just that he was a genius as a batsman, it was the way he showed it off. Most batsman would not try to hit a spinner out of the attack in the second last over of the day. Most batsman would not try to clear the ropes with a long on there in the second last ball of the day. Most batsman would not try to come down the track and hit Allan Donald when there were two bouncers allowed per over and the umpires were not that strict in implementing them.
But then again, not many genius batsmen have been as villified as Lara. And having followed his career almost throughout with the greatest of interest, I can easily say that most of it is just plain unwarranted. Except for that time between late 95 and end of 98 when he was a bit drunk with power and tried to do everything as though he was the only one who mattered, I think he has been as committed to cricket, in general, and West INdies cricket, in particular, as anyone has ever been. And even then, he wasn't the worst around, because you had guys like Hooper going around with even worse attitudes. The fact that West INdies cricket, even today, is almost always filled with that inter-island rivalry never helped him realize his true potential as a leader and dare I say, even as a batsman.
But what he brought to the game is beyond any question. He simply made cricket forcefully watchabale. You dare not think of leaving the game when Lara was around. In that aspect, he was the Shane Warne among batsmen. With him around, anything was possible from any situation. The game was never over till Lara was around. There have been other batsman around, sure and sure, there have been better batsman around, both in terms of technique and in terms of stats but for pure danger to the opposition, irrespective of the state of the game, Lara has had no peers. It didn't matter what the pitch was like and what the opposition bowling/fielding was like when Lara was in the mood. Watching him play, you just KNEW that he would have done the same thing to any attack and to any opposition. Gifted is a word that hardly describes half of Lara but gifted he certainly was. Gifted with a technique that, if used by another batsman, wouldn't help to attain even a single digit average... Gifted with footwork so nimble that helped him use that technique and still do well.... Gifted with timing and power that made the task almost impossible for the bowler when he was in the form and in the mood. And finally Gifted with the fitness (physical and mental) to go on and on when batting well. No batsman in the past 15 years has been more naturally talented than Lara....
A man with a not so good looking ODI record, relatively speaking, and still a man who almost every expert commentator would have down in his team sheet when selecting an all time ODI XI (check out Cricinfo Maganzine's piece on this)... Words are simply not enough to describe his genius. But then again, it is always hard to express the inexpressible. To know how good he was, you HAD to see him. See him LIVE when in good form and you will know what it feels to watch absolute greatness and genius paraded in front of your eyes. No other batsman looked so immune to a bowler's greatness than Lara did when he was at his best. It always took a mistake from him to get out, not something great from the bowler.
Cricket, will never EVER be the same without one Brian Charles Lara adorning the fields. And perhaps the ultimate compliment is that even as he retires now, he still looks good enough to keep his ranking as one of the top batsmen for another two years at least. Not many have the guts to quit when at the top and in the past half-hear we have now seen 3 of the greatest ever in this game do so, for significantly different reasons. Farewell, Brian and let's hope in your retirement that you get the peace and quiet that you never got as a player.... You will often be imitated but never duplicated and definitely never replaced......
Brian Lara is one of a kind, in more senses than one. It was not just that he was a genius as a batsman, it was the way he showed it off. Most batsman would not try to hit a spinner out of the attack in the second last over of the day. Most batsman would not try to clear the ropes with a long on there in the second last ball of the day. Most batsman would not try to come down the track and hit Allan Donald when there were two bouncers allowed per over and the umpires were not that strict in implementing them.
But then again, not many genius batsmen have been as villified as Lara. And having followed his career almost throughout with the greatest of interest, I can easily say that most of it is just plain unwarranted. Except for that time between late 95 and end of 98 when he was a bit drunk with power and tried to do everything as though he was the only one who mattered, I think he has been as committed to cricket, in general, and West INdies cricket, in particular, as anyone has ever been. And even then, he wasn't the worst around, because you had guys like Hooper going around with even worse attitudes. The fact that West INdies cricket, even today, is almost always filled with that inter-island rivalry never helped him realize his true potential as a leader and dare I say, even as a batsman.
But what he brought to the game is beyond any question. He simply made cricket forcefully watchabale. You dare not think of leaving the game when Lara was around. In that aspect, he was the Shane Warne among batsmen. With him around, anything was possible from any situation. The game was never over till Lara was around. There have been other batsman around, sure and sure, there have been better batsman around, both in terms of technique and in terms of stats but for pure danger to the opposition, irrespective of the state of the game, Lara has had no peers. It didn't matter what the pitch was like and what the opposition bowling/fielding was like when Lara was in the mood. Watching him play, you just KNEW that he would have done the same thing to any attack and to any opposition. Gifted is a word that hardly describes half of Lara but gifted he certainly was. Gifted with a technique that, if used by another batsman, wouldn't help to attain even a single digit average... Gifted with footwork so nimble that helped him use that technique and still do well.... Gifted with timing and power that made the task almost impossible for the bowler when he was in the form and in the mood. And finally Gifted with the fitness (physical and mental) to go on and on when batting well. No batsman in the past 15 years has been more naturally talented than Lara....
A man with a not so good looking ODI record, relatively speaking, and still a man who almost every expert commentator would have down in his team sheet when selecting an all time ODI XI (check out Cricinfo Maganzine's piece on this)... Words are simply not enough to describe his genius. But then again, it is always hard to express the inexpressible. To know how good he was, you HAD to see him. See him LIVE when in good form and you will know what it feels to watch absolute greatness and genius paraded in front of your eyes. No other batsman looked so immune to a bowler's greatness than Lara did when he was at his best. It always took a mistake from him to get out, not something great from the bowler.
Cricket, will never EVER be the same without one Brian Charles Lara adorning the fields. And perhaps the ultimate compliment is that even as he retires now, he still looks good enough to keep his ranking as one of the top batsmen for another two years at least. Not many have the guts to quit when at the top and in the past half-hear we have now seen 3 of the greatest ever in this game do so, for significantly different reasons. Farewell, Brian and let's hope in your retirement that you get the peace and quiet that you never got as a player.... You will often be imitated but never duplicated and definitely never replaced......
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