History-maker Brian Lara has penned down his incredible cricketing journey in his new book – Lara: The England Chronicles. The book was released on July 2 and published by Fairfield Book. Lara, one of the greatest batters, had a special connection with England throughout his illustrious career. The left-handed batter, who was known for his flamboyant batting and imperious stroke-making, scripted history in Birmingham with a 501-run knock in a county cricket match while playing for Warwickshire. He still remains the only batter to score 500 in first-class cricket.
The Windies great also registered the highest score in Test cricket – 400 against England in 2004 at Antigua Recreation Ground, St John’s, Antigua. His final international game – an ODI also came up against England in 2007.
He finished his incredible Test career with 11953 runs in 131 Tests at a staggering average of 52.88.
In the book, Lara talked about several phases of his life, from the tough times to breaking records to winning trophies. Lara shared the thought process whenever he entered the middle and what motivated him to score runs.
“What motivated me to make runs, always, was the team. Any time I went away from that, turned a bit inward, started thinking about my name on honours boards and things like that, then I’d fall apart. A man doesn’t play cricket by himself. Nor should he play it for himself. Cricket isn’t golf or tennis. It’s not about grand slams and individual titles. Cricket is an expression of collective action, or it’s nothing at all,” Lara wrote in the book.
After retiring from international cricket in 2007, Lara tried his hand in commentary and also coached an IPL team – Sunrisers Hyderabad. Meanwhile, Lara: The England Chronicles is the Windies legend’s first fully co-authored book.
