June 6: When Lara surpassed Hanif's 499 with an unbeaten 501

West Indian's quintuple century was a show of perseverance, focus and clarity

“I've never played county cricket with a player attracting this kind of interest,” former England cricketer Gladstone Small said while recalling Brian Lara’s innings for Warwickshire against Durham. It's when Lara became the only cricketer to score 500 runs in a four-day first-class match.

The name Lara itself symbolises greatness as of today. But, in 1994, at the age of 25 and with only four years after debuting against Pakistan in both Tests and ODIs, the left-hand unorthodox batsman had already become one of the greats of the game due to his unparalleled class.

PHOTO: AFP

Rain had tried to spoil the show for the West Indian during the four-day encounter, but legends are known to strike back in the face of adversity -- so did Lara.

Phil Bainbridge won the toss and chose to set a target for Lara’s Warwickshire. A John Morris double-ton led Durham to 556-8 before they declared on day 2. Lara walked in on day 2 after opener Dominic Ostler fell cheaply for eight runs.

And, from that moment onwards, everything was about Lara.

PHOTO: AFP

Day 2 ended with Lara unbeaten on a ‘nelson’ after losing his partner Roger Twose for 51. The third day couldn’t see any play due to rain while June 5, 1994 was a rest day. As soon as the covers were taken off at Edgbaston, Birmingham on June 6, Lara walked in and started taking on the bowlers.

The late Bob Woolmer, who also coached Pakistan from 2004 till his death in 2007, was the director of cricket for Warwickshire at that time. He had said that Lara "looked shocking by his standards, not moving well at all" during the nets before the restart.

However, Lara had a goal in mind on the last day of that match. He had to score the memorable 500. He told his captain Dermot Reeve to not declare at lunch so that he can touch the milestone. The confidence in his voice and the clarity of his thought pushed Reeve to avoid declaration.

PHOTO: AFP

Lara, with the help of 61 boundaries and 10 sixes, then managed 497 with only one over left in the day – just two runs short of Pakistani Hanif Mohammad’s 499 which he had scored in 1959. However, what Lara did not know was that he had only six balls left to hit the magical 500 mark.

"I was on 497 and didn't realise the over from Morris would be the last," Lara had said once while reminiscing. "So I didn't score off three and then was hit on the helmet. Keith came down the wicket and told me I had two balls to get to 500. There was panic. Three runs in two balls is never easy.”

So he did what he does best. The bowler ran in and bowled on off-stump and Lara in his usual duck-and-hammer manner cracked the ball towards covers. The world stood in awe, the opposition applauded his feat, fellow teammates clapped and cheered as Lara lifted his bat and helmet high with grace and elegance to acknowledge everyone -- he had just become the only living person on the planet to score 500 runs in a first-class match.

PHOTO: AFP

After the match, in his typically modest tone, Lara had said: “This is a moment I will cherish forever… the first man to score 500 runs. But I don't think I'm a great player yet. I am still only 25 and my aim is to keep up this consistency; when I get to a ripe old age then talk of me as a great cricketer.”

Lara's quintuple century fable is still told to Test cricketers. Although he was given a few lifelines, his perseverance was exceptional, his focus unshaken and most of all, the clarity with which he played on that day is still unmatched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3klZq-iqyM