SYDNEY, April 13: Australia opener Matthew Hayden was quick to congratulate West Indian Brian Lara on breaking his world record for the highest Test score on Monday. Hayden overtook Lara's previous world record of 375 when he made 380 against Zimbabwe in October before the West Indies' captain regained the record with an unbeaten 400 in the fourth and final Test against England in Antigua.

"I spoke to Brian over the phone this morning and passed on my congratulations for what was a truly amazing effort," Hayden said in a statement on Tuesday. "I wanted to let him know how appreciative I was when he contacted me in Perth, and I thought it was only appropriate that I pass on my own best wishes to him and his family.

"Breaking Brian's record against Zimbabwe was one of the most memorable days of my cricketing life but records are made to be broken and, as a batsman, I guess they can fall at any time.

"I've been fortunate enough to be part of an incredibly successful Australian team and I see my role as not a record breaker but as a valuable contributor to a winning team."

Lara said he believed the record was a possibility from the time he reached 200 for the seventh time in Tests. "At the end of the first day, I felt that the pitch was good and that if any batsman applied himself they could make a big score.

"I realised that the rate I was scoring at, there was a lot of time left in the game and it was possible." Lara reiterated that he would have liked to have scored more runs in the previous Tests but hoped his innings would be a spur for West Indies to go on to better things.

"I am proud, definitely. I didn't miss having the record but it's great to have it again. Hopefully we can go on to win this and we can begin to get West Indies back on top again."

The West Indies captain said he had received several other phone calls to congratulate him almost ten years to the day after he made 375 to break the record held by another West Indian, Gary Sobers.

"The reaction has been great. I had a call from my Prime Minister (Patrick Manning) and also one from the golfer who has just finished second in the US Masters, Ernie Els, who is a good friend of mine."

While Lara said he expected someone to break the record before too long, England captain Michael Vaughan was not as certain. "It could be a while before anyone else scores 400," Vaughan said. "So the record could stand for a long time.

"It is an amazing achievement, to bat for two days and give only a half-chance is incredible. "We gave him everything we had and he just threw it back at us. He is a true great of the game." Meanwhile, Lara was hailed as 'the new king' by local media on Tuesday.

The West Indies captain has been lambasted over the past month for his side's woeful performances in the first three tests, won by England, and his leadership criticised. However, the press were falling over themselves to laud Lara's exploits in resurrecting hope for West Indies' cricket.

"Hail King Lara," said the Antigua Sun, while the Jamaica Gleaner's headline was "The King of Cricket Reclaims his Crown". Lara's epic innings lasted just under 13 hours and included 43 fours and four sixes as he helped West Indies declare their first innings on 751 for five on Monday and end any hopes England had of completing a series whitewash in the Caribbean.

He had scored just 100 in his previous six innings. Garth Watley, writing in the Trinidad Express - Lara's home country - described the 34-year-old as a genius. "He can't walk on water or turn water into wine, but with a cricket bat in his hands, wonders never cease for Brian Charles Lara," wrote Watley.

"In a single knock he boosted his series tally to an even 500, almost surely saved his side from an unprecedented home whitewash, and quelled, for the moment, rising discontent over his captaincy."

The Trinidad Guardian described the reaction from Lara's childhood home in Santa Cruz, Trinidad. "Lara is the greatest batsman that ever passed through Trinidad, and possibly the greatest ever to pass through the world," contract labourer Winston Regis, 52, said.

"Brian always had an appetite for big things," one of Lara's six brothers, Winston, 51, was quoted as saying. Philip Spooner, writing in the Barbados Nation, summed up the mood of the public. "He has not only broken a world record and scaled new heights, but also restored pride and dignity to his people." -Reuters