298 DELIVERIES, 22 FOURS
AUSTRALIA V WEST INDIES, 3RD TEST, ADELAIDE, 2005
West Indies 405 (Lara 226) & 204 (Bravo 64, Sarwan 62; Warne 6-80, Lee 4-46) lost to Australia 428 (Hussey 133*, Langer 99; Bravo 6-84) & 182-3 (Hayden 87*) by seven wickets
OPPOSITION ATTACK: Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne, Stuart MacGill
He may have finished on the losing side but this was a Brian Lara parade. On his last Test appearance in Australia, he was given a standing ovation as he walked out to bat at the Adelaide Oval and at various points thereafter. He finished with 226 out of 405 – no other West Indies batsman made more than 34 – in the first innings and became the leading Test run-scorer of all time in the process.
On the second morning he passed Allan Border’s record of 11,174 runs when he paddle-swept Glenn McGrath for a single. Lara was in the zone. “The exhibition, which included 22 fours, was one of unbending concentration as he showed satisfaction in sweating for runs instead of merely waving his magic wand,” wrote Peter English in Wisden. He faced 298 balls, fending off the dual spin threat of Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill.
He was Man of the Match and presented with a framed photo of himself by Richie Benaud, as well as being given honorary life membership of the South Australian Cricket Association.
