Not to be confused with the West Indies cricket team, which, judging by its performance is in jeopardy, Brian Lara, one of the greatest cricketers of all time, was a clue on tonight’s Jeopardy! episode. Since I was multi-tasking at the time, I didn’t hear the category, but the clue went something like this:
In 1994, Brian Lara scored 390 runs in one day for Warwickshire vs Durham in this sport.
Lara went on to score his famous 501 not out during that match. For the record, the contestant got it right, but getting it right seemingly comes effortlessly for Lara – he also broke the long-standing record for most runs in a test innings (previously held by Sir Gary Sobers of Barbados) and regained the record a few years later from Australian Matthew Hayden with an even more impressive score. Following the most recent West Indies tour to Australia, Lara currently holds the record for the most runs ever scored in test cricket history, surpassing Alan Border’s 11,174 runs.
The Trinidad & Tobago-born left-handed batsman also holds the record for the highest Test innings (400 not out) and the highest First Class score (that 501 vs. Durham). He can also boast 31 test centuries. To see Lara play is to understand why the term “cricket, glorious cricket” was coined and he remains our region’s shining hope that we can revive the days when the West Indies dominated the sport.