Brian Lara: The best left-hander to have played the game!

Brian Lara with Jamie Bowers. Pic Getty Images

When one thinks of the greatest batsman in world cricket, names like Sir Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting come to the mind. But people tend to forget perhaps the greatest left-handed batsman to have played the game, Brian Lara. On his 51st birthday, we celebrate his legacy in the game.

On January 5th, 1993, a young unassuming West Indian named Brian Lara burst onto the scene against Australia in Sydney. Brian Lara scored a mammoth double ton for a maiden Test century with a score of 277 against a quality bowling attack, away from home.

The double ton proved to be a turning point of the series as West Indies won the final two Tests to win the series 2-1.

Let's take a look at some of Brian Lara's personal facts and achievements:

• Brian Lara went on to name his daughter Sydney after scoring 277 at SCG.
• He has the highest individual score in both first-class cricket (501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994) and Test cricket (400 not out for the West Indies against England in 2004.
• Brian Lara is the only man to have reclaimed the Test record score, having scored 375 against England in 1994, a record that stood until Matthew Hayden's 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003. He later scored 400, which is the record Test score till date.
• Brian Lara's 400 not out also made him the second player (after Donald Bradman) to score two Test triple-centuries, and the second (after Bill Ponsford) to score two first-class quadruple-centuries
• Brian Lara has dated former Durham County Cricket Club receptionist and British lingerie model Lynnsey Ward. During the West Indies tour to Australia in late 2000, Brian Lara was accompanied by Ward.
• When former US President Barrack Obama visited Trinidad and Tobago, he called Brian Lara the 'Micheal Jordan of cricket'. Barrack Obama said that he did not know much about Cricket, but he estimated the value of Brain Lara to Cricket would be equivalent to Michael Jordan's to Basketball.

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