Brian Lara is a former cricketer and captain of the West Indies cricket team. He was a skilled batsman, and was known for his ability to bat for long and high-scoring innings.[1] From his debut in international cricket in 1990 to his retirement in 2007, Lara scored 11,953 runs in Tests and 10,405 in One Day Internationals (ODI), accumulating a total of 53 centuries.[2] His accomplishments with the bat saw him chosen as the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in 1994,[3] as well as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1995.[4]
[5] Lara scored a Test century for the first time in his fifth Test match in 1993 against Australia.[6] His score of 277 in that match is the fourth-highest maiden century in Test history.[7] The 375 he made against England in 1994 was the highest individual Test score for nine years, until Matthew Hayden surpassed it in 2003.[8] Lara regained the world record in 2004 when he made an unbeaten 400, once again against England.[9] It is also the only quadruple century in Test cricket.[10] The unbeaten 153 he scored against Australia in 1999 was rated as the second-best Test innings of all time by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2001.[11][12] He has scored more than 200 runs on nine occasions, the highest after Donald Bradman[13][14] and Kumar Sangakkara Alongside Sir Donald Bradman, Virender Sehwag and Chris Gayle, he is one of four batsmen who have scored triple centuries on two occasions.[15] Lara scored 34 centuries during his Test career, the highest number by a West Indian player. He is ranked sixth for the highest number of centuries in a career along with Mahela Jayawardene, Sunil Gavaskar and Younis Khan, behind Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara and Rahul Dravid.[16]
Lara's first ODI century came more than two years after his debut match, when he scored 128 against Pakistan.[17] His career best is 169 runs made against Sri Lanka in 1995. It is also the third highest individual score by a West Indian batsman.[18] The 117 he made against Bangladesh in 1999 is the fifth fastest century in ODI cricket. It was made in 45 balls at a strike rate of 188.70, reaching the boundary on eighteen occasions and clearing it on four.[19] During his career, he scored more than 150 runs on three occasions. By the time of his retirement, he had scored 19 centuries in ODI matches.[20] This is the second highest number of centuries scored by a single batsman for the West Indies, a record that Chris Gayle surpassed.[21]
Key
- * – Remained not out
- ‡ – Captain in that match
- † – Player of the match
- (D/L) – Result was determined by the Duckworth–Lewis method
Test cricket centuries
ODI centuries
| No. | Score | Against | Pos. | Inn. | S.R. | Venue | H/A/N | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 128* |  Pakistan | 2 | 1 | 102.40 | Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban | Neutral | 19 February 1993 | Won[55] |
| 2 | 111*† |  South Africa | 2 | 2 | 79.28 | Springbok Park, Bloemfontein | Away | 23 February 1993 | Won[56] |
| 3 | 114† | Pakistan | 1 | 2 | 98.27 | Sabina Park, Kingston | Home | 23 March 1993 | Won[57] |
| 4 | 153† | Pakistan | 2 | 2 | 106.99 | Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah | Neutral | 5 November 1993 | Won[58] |
| 5 | 139† |  Australia | 3 | 1 | 113.00 | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain | Home | 12 March 1995 | Won[59] |
| 6 | 169† |  Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 131.00 | Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah | Neutral | 16 October 1995 | Won[60] |
| 7 | 111† | South Africa | 3 | 1 | 118.08 | National Stadium, Karachi | Neutral | 11 March 1996 | Won[61] |
| 8 | 146*† |  New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 108.95 | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain | Home | 30 March 1996 | Won[62] |
| 9 | 104 | New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 100.97 | Arnos Vale Stadium, Kingstown | Home | 6 April 1996 | Won[63] |
| 10 | 102 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 89.47 | The Gabba, Brisbane | Away | 5 January 1997 | Won[64] |
| 11 | 103*† | Pakistan | 3 | 2 | 88.79 | WACA Ground, Perth | Neutral | 10 January 1997 | Won[65] |
| 12 | 110‡ |  England | 3 | 2 | 103.77 | Kensington Oval, Bridgetown | Home | 29 March 1998 | Lost[66] |
| 13 | 117†‡ |  Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | 188.70 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka | Away | 9 October 1999 | Won[67] |
| 14 | 116*† | Australia | 4 | 2 | 109.43 | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | Away | 17 January 2001 | Lost[68] |
| 15 | 111† |  Kenya | 3 | 1 | 92.50 | Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo | Neutral | 17 September 2002 | Won[69] |
| 16 | 116† | South Africa | 3 | 1 | 86.56 | Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town | Away | 9 February 2003 | Won[70] |
| 17 | 116‡ | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 109.43 | Kensington Oval, Bridgetown | Home | 8 June 2003 | Lost[71] |
| 18 | 113‡ |  Zimbabwe | 3 | 1 | 137.80 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo | Away | 22 November 2003 | Won[72] |
| 19 | 156†‡ | Pakistan | 4 | 1 | 113.04 | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Neutral | 28 January 2005 | Won[73] |
References
- General
- "BC Lara – Centuries in Test matches". Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
- "BC Lara – Centuries in One Day Internationals". Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
- Specific