'Remember that day like it was yesterday' - Brian Lara on record 400* in Test cricket

It has been 18 years since Brian Lara knocked an enormous 400* against England at St. John’s but he feels like it just happened yesterday. Lara’s masterpiece still remains to be the highest individual score by any player in Test cricket. A decade after scoring 375 against England, Lara broke his own record at the same venue in Antigua against the same opposition.

His record of 375 was broken by Matthew Hayden in 2003 when he scored 380 against Zimbabwe, but it didn’t take much time for Lara to gain the top position as he reclaimed the record and helped his team put up a total of 751/5 against England in 2004.

Recalling his record innings, Lara spoke that the game holds a special place in his heart. “I went on to get 400. It was a wonderful achievement. Would I have given it away for us winning the series? Yes, I would have given it away at the time. But the fact that to get to that total again, having done it 10 years earlier, I think it was a little bit easier,” he said in a video shared by the Sunrisers Hyderabad

“I remember that day like it was yesterday. I woke up at 5 in the morning, I went to play golf, I couldn’t sleep, I was really anxious. But 10 years later, in 2004, having done that before, you are very calculated. You know what to do. You are much older. The experience, I suppose, tells,” he added.

“We did not win the Test match but the fact that we drew the Test match, and England was not able to whitewash us, blackwash us, whatever the case may be. I felt it was a job well done. To get the world record back, as I said earlier, was not on my mind. But to be the first person to score 400 in a Test inning, I was very proud of that occasion,” he concluded.

After achieving the feat, he was given a guard of honor by the players and was greeted by Baldwin Spencer, the then Prime Minister of Antigua. Lara is currently serving as the batting coach of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2022.