LARA DEDICATES AWARD TO DAD

West Indian cricket legend Brian Lara has been elected ICC’s Hall of Fame cricketer this year. He was awarded in Colombo last Saturday in ICC’s Annual Award Distribution ceremony. Becoming an ICC Hall of Fame cricketer is considered a great achievement, and Lara is also delighted to have achieved it. So he has dedicated this award to his late father Bunty Lara. Brian Lara is a legend not only to the Caribbean but also to the whole world of cricket. He is an inspiration to cricketers. But unfortunately his dad did not live to see his son’s achievement, because he passed away before Lara’s debut in international cricket. Lara attended the ICC gala program at a local hotel in Colombo accompanied by his brother Winston and sister Agones. There, he said that it was a great moment and a great achievement in his life. He further said that at this momentous moment he was missing his father a lot. He said that he had to work very hard to have come this far and lamented that it was painful for him to think that his father did not live to see his performance in international cricket. Lara was an indispensable part of West Indies’ cricket in his heyday. He played 131 test matches in his 17-year international career. He scored a record 11,953 runs in test cricket, at an average of 52.89 runs. He scored 34 centuries and 48 half-centuries in his test career. Lara’s performance was outstanding not only in test cricket but also in one-day cricket. He scored 10,405 runs in 299 one day matches at an average of 40.48. He scored 19 centuries and 63 half-centuries.  He holds 2 world records at present. One is the highest test score in an innings, (against England in 2004 where he was unbeaten for 400 runs). The other one is highest individual score in first class cricket (599 runs). At the ceremony he mentioned his sister and brother’s contribution in enabling him to become a world class cricketer. He said that his sister Agones was his first coach of cricket and that he learned a lot of things from his sister when he was only 6 years old. His brother Winston was a model of batting style to him. Therefore, these two are very special to him. Lara expressed his satisfaction at being able to have spent 17 years in the West Indies squad. He captained the West Indies team for a long period. We wish him well for the future.