Brian Lara’s Historic 400-Run Knock: A Landmark in Cricket History
Brian Lara made cricket history on April 12, 2004, by becoming the first batsman to achieve the monumental feat of scoring 400 runs in a single Test inning. This remarkable achievement, against England, stands as the highest individual score in Test cricket to date.
Throughout the lengthy innings, Lara smashed 43 fours and four sixes, sending England fielders on a hunt for leather. He still has the record he produced eighteen years ago.
With his outstanding performance in St. Lucia, Lara therefore became the first batter to recapture the record for the highest individual score, surpassing Matthew Hayden’s 380. With his 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003, Hayden broke Brian C Lara’s world record of 375, set precisely ten years prior in 1994 at the same location where he got his 400 against England.
West Indies had lost all three matches and looked certain to lose the series going into the fourth Test, but Lara had other ideas. He broke free from his restraints and showed the world just how brilliant he was by scoring an undefeated 400 to tie the game.
Before this match, Lara had only amassed 100 runs in three Test matches, raising severe concerns about his form. But there was no stopping Brian C Lara when the West Indies great took to the bat on a ground that offered little to the bowlers.
Having won the toss, West Indies chose to bat first. After a storm delayed the start of the session after lunch, Chris Gayle dismissed the ball and Lara took over at the crease, giving the team a light start.
By the end of the first day, Lara had contributed to West Indies’ 208 for 2 and 86 not out total. He hit a triple hundred on Day 2, and the West Indies finished 595 for 5. When he reached 400 on Day 3, the West Indies declared for 751/7. For the record, Lara completed his inning two minutes short of thirteen hours. Among his uneaten 400 were four sixes and forty-three fours.
Along the way, Lara made history by becoming just the second player in first-class cricket history to make two quadruple hundreds, behind Bill Ponsford. At the age of 37, Lata declared his retirement from all forms of cricket in 2007. His final game was played in Barbados on April 21, 2007, against England.
Brian C Lara Test Stats
He has scored 11953 Runs in 131 Matches (232 Innings) at an brilliant average of 52.9 and 60.5 strike rate with 34 Hundreds and 48 Fifties. He has hit 1559 fours and 88 sixes in his entire test carrier.
ODI STATS
He has been an all format superstar from West Indies.He scored 10405 Runs in 299 Matches (289 Innings) at an average of 40.5 and 79.5 strike rate with 19 hundreds and 63 half centuries.
Top Five Highest Individual Scores
- Brian C Lara scored 400*(582) against England at St John’s on 10 Apr 2004
- Matthew Hayden scored 380(437) against Zimbabwe at Perth on 09 Oct 2003
- Brian Lara scored 375(538) against England at St John’s on 16 Apr 1994
- Mahela Jayawardene scored 374(572) against South Africa at Colombo(SSC) on27 Jul 2006
- Garry Sobers scored 365*(-) against Pakistan at Kingston on 26 Feb 1958.
