Prince of Port Of Spain Was Special To Watch
Brian Charles Lara a cricket batting legend, A West Indian hero, A Trinbagonian sporting icon and my inspiration to be the best growing up in Trinidad. The Prince retired from cricket in 2007 and twelve years later his great innings throughout his career are still remembered by cricket fans around the world as if it happened yesterday. If you witnessed a Brian Lara innings Live from a cricket stadium or behind your television during his time at the pitch for West Indies then consider yourself damn lucky because there will never be another like him. His style, his flair and the way he dominated the opposing team bowlers was special to watch. Cricket's greatest bowlers, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Alan Donald, Muttiah Muralitharan, Jacques Kallis all had epic battles with the Prince during their careers and each one felt the pain from his wrath.
I remember as a boy in Trinidad I would stay up late at night, early into the following morning when West Indies would tour Australia or South Africa to see Lara and the West Indies compete for another test match or one day victory. His memorable 277* in Sydney, and his epic World Cup innings are just a few that invoke nostalgia. How about that special 153* at Kensington Oval in Barbados who many say is his greatest ever innings as he single handily won the match for the Windies. And of course we cannot forget his world record test match knocks of 375* and the incredible 401* at Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua which still stands as the world record today.
Many cricket experts will argue Lara played most of his career during a West Indies cricket era when most of his team mates struggled and on many occasions he shouldered the responsibility to do most for his team and most times the lonely battle was too much to bear and West Indies struggled in many matches against top class opposition.
Many cricket experts will argue Lara played most of his career during a West Indies cricket era when most of his team mates struggled and on many occasions he shouldered the responsibility to do most for his team and most times the lonely battle was too much to bear and West Indies struggled in many matches against top class opposition.
I met Lara when I was ten years old in my native Trinidad and Tobago, and today he is still my hero! Unlike many sporting legends today, he did most of his talking in the field, in the arena of battle and less on social media. Thank you Brian for the great memories and the inspiration.
By Jason Diaz (StarBoy)
By Jason Diaz (StarBoy)
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