Brian Lara rolls back the clock with a delicate late cut

Brian Lara, throughout his career, neutralized a number of bowlers with sheer display of shot-making. It was always about brute force for the Trinidadian, but also flair and finesse. The southpaw was a versatile lot and weaved magic in both ODI and T20 cricket. He last played international cricket in the 2007 edition of the World Cup in the West Indies against England in Bridgetown.

Back in May this year, he turned 50 and yet hasn’t lost his touch of milking the bowlers with grace and audacity. Some of his batting abilities was on show on Sunday, September 1, at the renowned Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain Trinidad. He was representing the Bravo XI, led by Dwayne Bravo, in the match against Pollard XI, led by Kieron Pollard, as a part of The Selector Fan Cup.

Brian Lara shows his class

Apart from DJ Bravo, Lara’s team had other players like Sunil Narine and Lendl Simmons. Pollard’s team had cricketers like Denesh Ramdin, Jimmy Neesham and Seekkuge Prasanna. In a video going viral on social media platforms, the left-handed Lara was spotted playing an elegant late cut.

An off-spinner bowled to him from around the wicket and pitched the ball around the off-stump. Lara gauged the line and length of the ball to perfection. He went on to the backfoot and guided the ball through third-man, opening the face of the bat. Lara scored 12 runs after which he got out.

Here is the video

Brian Lara – not your everyday T20 number 3 pic.twitter.com/7vTngaXANA

— Dipankar Lahiri (@soiledshoes) September 1, 2019

After the friendly match, the West Indies are set to host the most-awaited Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The T20 tournament is set to get underway on Wednesday, September 4 with the contest between defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders and the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. The game will be played at the Queen’s Park Oval where the friendly match took place.

Pollard and Bravo will represent the Knight Riders itself. Last year, TKR, led by Bravo, became the first team to win the championship in consecutive years. On the other hand, Pollard has moved from the St Lucia franchise to the Knights. Prior to that, he represented the Barbados Tridents. He didn’t play the World Cup, but was a part of the national squad for the T20I series versus India.

Watch: CricTracker’s World Cup 2019 Cinematic Awards