The legendary cricketer for West Indies, Brian Lara, was recently in New York as part of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour driven by Nissan, and there he took time out to take part in what turned out to be a fascinating Reddit AMA.
Much like his batting, Lara did it all, covering an array of topics during the session, from the best active batsmen and bowlers in the world, his thoughts on cricket at the Olympics, the best bowlers he faced, and that 400 not-out in Tests.
Excerpts:
The toughest spinner he has played against
Muttiah (Muralitharan) always confused me in the early part of our confrontation, whilst Shane Warne didn’t. Having said that, as my innings grew I felt I had more control over Muttiah, whilst Shane seemed to grow in confidence. They were definitely the two best spinners of my time.
His favourite bowler to face
Shane Warne, he played for the best team in the world during my era, he was, and still is, regarded as the best leg-spinner to play the game. It was a battle I just embraced in some of the largest cricketing arenas.
His unbeaten 400 – still a Test record – against England in 2004
To approach those heights again, which I never thought was possible (personally), was just magical. Even back in 1994 after recuperating from my 375, I was a little disappointed that I didn’t go on to score 400.
Cricket at the Olympics
The T20 format lasts just three hours so I don’t see why it can’t be included in the Olympics. It was nice to see golf get that opportunity again, it’s time for cricket now.
Best active batsmen and bowlers
Virat Kohli and Joe Root
(James) Anderson and (Kagiso) Rabada
The quickest bowler he’s faced
The last morning of a Test match in Port of Spain against Australia, Brett Lee bowled some deliveries in a six-over spell, which were the fastest I’ve ever faced.
