(1) He was the 10th of 11 children of Bunty and Pearl Lara.
(2) At 14, playing in the School Boys' League he aggregated 745 runs to get himself selected for the Under-16 side of Trinidad National Team.
(3) At 15, he participated in his first Under-19 tournament in West Indies and soon represented West Indies at the Under-19 level.
(4) In 1987, Lara captained the Trinidad and Tobago to lift the West Indies Youth Championship – setting a record by scoring 498 runs in the event.
(5) In his debut first-class match next year, he scored 92 against a team having Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshal in their ranks.
(6) The untimely death of his father postponed his international debut during India's tour to West Indies. A year later, he made his debut in both the formats against Pakistan in an overseas tour in late 1990.
(7) His maiden Test century came at Sydney against Australia. His score of 277 in that innings is the fourth highest for a debut centurion. It also marks the highest individual one in a Test innings when a batsman was dismissed run-out.
(8) In 1994-95 between his 375 against England and 501* against English club Durham, Lara scored 7 first-class centuries in eight innings – the only cricketer to do so. In fact, at that time, both his 375 and 501 were highest individual scores in an innings in Test and First-class cricket respectively – the latter still remained as one.
(9) A decade later in 2004, Brian Lara scored an unbeaten 400 against England to reclaim the position of scoring the highest individual score in a Test innings.
(10) In 1995, Brian Lara became the first batsman to score 2000 runs in a calendar year across the formats in international cricket.
(11) His match aggregate of 351 runs (221 & 130) against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 2001 is the highest by any batsman in a losing cause. Lara too has been ended in the losing side with a match total of 200 runs or more on 8 different occasions – the most by a batsman with Andy Flower and Ricky Ponting coming a distant second with 3 each. Three of his nine double tons came in loses.
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(12) In the above match, Lara has scored 54% of his team's run – the most by a batsman in a Test. He has scored more than 40% of the team run 20 times. In his career, he featured in 63 lost Tests – the second-worst after team-mate Chanderpaul (68).
(13) The 196th player to represent West Indies in Test cricket scored 28 runs off a Robin Peterson over which is the joint highest in Test cricket.
(14) Lara's 4th innings match-winning heroics of unbeaten 153 against Australia at Bridgetown in 1999 is rated by Wisden as the second-best batting performance in Test cricket. In the top 15 of that exclusive list published in July 2001, the southpaw featured thrice – the most by a batsman.
(15) 'The Prince of Port of Spain' was appointed honorary member of the Order of Australia in 2009. In September 2012, he was inducted to the ICC's Hall of Fame at the awards ceremony held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 2013, Lara received Honorary Life Membership of the MCC becoming the 31st West Indian to receive the honour.
Which fact about Brian Lara surprised you the most? Let us know below!
(2) At 14, playing in the School Boys' League he aggregated 745 runs to get himself selected for the Under-16 side of Trinidad National Team.
(3) At 15, he participated in his first Under-19 tournament in West Indies and soon represented West Indies at the Under-19 level.
(4) In 1987, Lara captained the Trinidad and Tobago to lift the West Indies Youth Championship – setting a record by scoring 498 runs in the event.
(5) In his debut first-class match next year, he scored 92 against a team having Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshal in their ranks.
(6) The untimely death of his father postponed his international debut during India's tour to West Indies. A year later, he made his debut in both the formats against Pakistan in an overseas tour in late 1990.
(7) His maiden Test century came at Sydney against Australia. His score of 277 in that innings is the fourth highest for a debut centurion. It also marks the highest individual one in a Test innings when a batsman was dismissed run-out.
(8) In 1994-95 between his 375 against England and 501* against English club Durham, Lara scored 7 first-class centuries in eight innings – the only cricketer to do so. In fact, at that time, both his 375 and 501 were highest individual scores in an innings in Test and First-class cricket respectively – the latter still remained as one.
(9) A decade later in 2004, Brian Lara scored an unbeaten 400 against England to reclaim the position of scoring the highest individual score in a Test innings.
(10) In 1995, Brian Lara became the first batsman to score 2000 runs in a calendar year across the formats in international cricket.
(11) His match aggregate of 351 runs (221 & 130) against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 2001 is the highest by any batsman in a losing cause. Lara too has been ended in the losing side with a match total of 200 runs or more on 8 different occasions – the most by a batsman with Andy Flower and Ricky Ponting coming a distant second with 3 each. Three of his nine double tons came in loses.
Embed from Getty Images
(12) In the above match, Lara has scored 54% of his team's run – the most by a batsman in a Test. He has scored more than 40% of the team run 20 times. In his career, he featured in 63 lost Tests – the second-worst after team-mate Chanderpaul (68).
(13) The 196th player to represent West Indies in Test cricket scored 28 runs off a Robin Peterson over which is the joint highest in Test cricket.
(14) Lara's 4th innings match-winning heroics of unbeaten 153 against Australia at Bridgetown in 1999 is rated by Wisden as the second-best batting performance in Test cricket. In the top 15 of that exclusive list published in July 2001, the southpaw featured thrice – the most by a batsman.
(15) 'The Prince of Port of Spain' was appointed honorary member of the Order of Australia in 2009. In September 2012, he was inducted to the ICC's Hall of Fame at the awards ceremony held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 2013, Lara received Honorary Life Membership of the MCC becoming the 31st West Indian to receive the honour.
Which fact about Brian Lara surprised you the most? Let us know below!
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