Incredible Lara first to score 400 in a Test innings: Reclaims world record from Hayden
ST JOHN'S, April 12: West Indies captain Brian Lara became the first man to score 400 in a Test innings on the third afternoon of the fourth and final Test against England on Monday.
Lara, who had earlier passed Matthew Hayden's world record individual Test score of 380, swept off-spinner Gareth Batty for a single to backward square leg to reach the mark before declaring on 751 for five.
Lara finished on 400 not out with fellow left-hander Ridley Jacobs making 107 in the unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 288. Earlier, Lara reclaimed the world record for the highest individual Test score, passing Matthew Hayden's 380.
Almost exactly 10 years after he hit a then-world mark of 375 against England on the same ground, Lara took his score from 313 overnight to 390 not out at lunch, with West Indies on 734 for five.
Lara, struggling for form earlier in the series as England stormed to a 3-0 lead, reached 380 with a straight six off Batty before sweeping him for four next ball to break the record.
Lara ran the full length of the pitch, leapt and punched the air in triumph. New Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer was escorted out to the middle to embrace the batting genius and offer him congratulations.
Unlike 10 years ago, there were no pitch invasions this time, but a couple of spectators managed to elude the police dragnet on the circumference of the boundary to run out to the middle to embrace the batting hero.
The left-hander then kissed the ground before play resumed, having set the record from 546 balls, hitting 42 fours and four sixes. "It's hard to believe," he told Sky Sports after being a guard of honour by his team mates as he walked off.
"It's a great feeling. It's dampened a bit by the series result but we are going to press for a win." Hayden had overhauled Lara against Zimbabwe in Perth last October.
Lara, with just 100 runs in six innings before the fourth Test, became only the second man after Australia's Donald Bradman to make two Test triple centuries when he passed 300 on Sunday.
He hit his 375 in April, 1994 against an attack led by Angus Fraser, Andy Caddick and Chris Lewis and spinner Phil Tufnell. With West Indies resuming on 595 for five, Lara looked good early on, hitting three boundaries to move into the 330s.
A well-run two through the leg side brought up his 350, coming off 494 balls, but with the record in sight, he began to look a little edgy. England captain Michael Vaughan brought the field in to tempt Lara to hit over the top and he did just that, smashing him over mid-on to reach 372.
Lara then survived an appeal for a catch behind off Gareth Batty, and the nerves were clearly visible as he almost attempted a suicidal single next ball. After reaching 374, Lara then equalled Hayden's record with a sensational six over long on, before a sweep for four from the next ball gave him the record for a second time, prompting wild celebrations from the packed crowd.
Between times, Jacobs was bowled off a no ball by Vaughan when on 87 but he survived to be unbeaten on 100 at lunch, his third Test century. Steve Harmison received a third warning for running on the wicket, sidelining him for the rest of the innings, while Matthew Hoggard was still suffering from a stomach upset and did not take the field.
Sachin Tendulkar, regarded by many as the world's best batsman, paid tribute to Lara. "A great achievement, a fantastic feat," Tendulkar said in Rawalpindi where the third and final Test against Pakistan starts on Tuesday.
"We always knew him to be a great accumulator of runs but to score over 350 twice is indeed remarkable. One can't plan an innings like this from the start. It just comes as you go along. "It is certainly an inspiration for all modern batsmen."
Scoreboard
WEST INDIES (1st Innings, overnight 595-5):
C.H. Gayle c and b Batty 69
D. Ganga lbw b Flintoff 10
B.C. Lara not out 400
R.R. Sarwan c T'cothick b Harmison 90
R.L. Powell c Hussain b S.P. Jones 23
R.O. Hinds c and b Batty 36
R.D. Jacobs not out 107
EXTRAS (B-4, LB-5, W-2, NB-5) 16
TOTAL (for five decl, 202 overs) 751
FALL OF WKTS: 1-33, 2-98, 3-330, 4-380, 5-469.
DID NOT BAT: T.L. Best, P.T. Collins, C.D. Collymore, F.H. Edwards.
