5 Selfish captains in cricket history

5. Brian Lara

It is not often that a batsman is criticized after making a world record score. That ‘not often’ case is of Brian Lara, the Prince of West Indies. Lara broke Matthew Hayden’s record of 380 runs and scored the first-ever Quadruple Test match century, 400 unbeaten – unbeaten is a term which is excessively focussed by Lara’s critics. The record Lara accomplished in 2004, stands till date, but is invariably talked in a hushed tone, sometimes, directly called as a selfish one.

Batting first against England, in a rain-marred game, Lara – who was also the captain of the team – notched up his triple century in 404 balls by the end of the second day. In the rain inflicted game, West Indies were in a commanding position when Lara crossed 300, and he was expected to score quickly in a bid to declare and take 20 English wickets to win the game.

However, instead of accelerating, Lara took his own sweet time and sauntered towards his goals; first breaking Hayden’s record and then reaching the 400 mark. The left-hander notched up his 400th run in 582 deliveries – taking another 178 balls for his last 100 runs – by the evening of day three.

West Indies declared at 751/5. Although Lara gained a lot of applauds for his record innings, by the end of the game, he received plenty of flak. England was bowled out for 285 in their first innings and 422/5 in their second innings, after following on. West Indies bowlers failed to take all 20 England wickets – they were 5 short to win the game, and England took the series 3-0. However great the record is, Lara was and is still criticized for his tedious approach towards the landmark figure.

The then Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, said that Lara batted so long that it may have cost his team a Test win. In 2019, Australia displayed their ruthlessness to win a Test match, when Captain Tim Paine declared Australia’s innings with David Warner on 335 not out on the evening of the second day.

Even with plenty of time left in the game to dismiss Pakistan’s feeble batting order, but with the threat of rain looming around, Paine took the decision to declare, which received an ambiguous response. On a stricter note, comparing the situation of Lara with Warner, yes it was a selfish knock – or rather selfish last 100 runs – from the West Indian skipper.