In times of struggle, a captain should be present and be prepared to stand up and deliver. His performance can help the team to perform well and to target a win or, at the very least, avoid a defeat. Back in 1999, West Indian captain, Brian Lara, did just that when they faced Australia at Bridgetown, Barbados.
Brian Lara struck an unbeaten 153. Throughout a long, hot fifth day, played in a frenzied atmosphere against fierce opponents and before a packed and expectant crowd, the Trinidadian kept his head and his wicket. He showed impeccable judgement and remarkable calm as he took his team to a famous victory.
When talking about this innings, there are two other innings that come in mind: Kusal Perera's 153* ( against South Africa in the 1st Test, in 2019, in Durban). Then, there's Ben Stokes' innings of 135* (against Australia in the 3rd Test, in Leeds).
There are two differences between the two mentioned above and Lara's innings. The first is the pressure he was under at the time. Coming into Australia’s visit, he had just led West Indies to a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of South Africa, a scoreline the once-great side had never experienced before. The last Test was a 351-run hammering that so complete that all 11 South Africans shared the honour of Player of the Match award.
A skittling for 51 was about the only way West Indies could sink any lower and they duly complied in the Port of Spain. Then came Kingston, where 34-4 became 378-5 as Lara smashed 213. A West Indian dynasty on its last legs was raging against the dying of the light and a 10-wicket victory followed. If that was an unexpected thrashing, Barbados bore witness to an unparalleled classic.
Hundreds from Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting pushed Australia near 500 and though Sherwin Campbell dug in for a century in response, Lara nicked off and West Indies conceded a lead of over 150 (175 to be exact). Courtney Walsh's 5-39 kept Australia just within reach and then it was over to Lara to keep the flame burning a little while longer.
The second factor is that, while Perera and Stokes' innings came with the match situation apparently hopeless, relieving them of the burden of expectations, Lara had long established himself as a player capable of pulling off what was impossible for everyone else. His innings was all the greater for his existing track record, one that included figures of 501* and 375. He would later score 400* against England in 2004. Had an extravagant Walsh leave gone awry and signalled an Australian triumph, the pain would have been felt all the more strongly, with the hope extinguished not a flame that had suddenly sprung into life, but a flicker that had slowly but surely grown into an inferno.
Still, for all the backlift flourishes, the twinkling toes and thrashing drives, it was an unsuccessful piece of evasive action that summed up the innings best. Having been struck on the back of the helmet by a Glenn McGrath bouncer, Lara got up and ran to the other end, ensuring no runs were squandered and smiled, relishing the fight. Then he squared up to the bowler, despite standing a full head shorter than the lanky Australian.
By this stage, Australia had overtaken West Indies as the planet’s best team. But in Lara, they had more than met their equal.
Lara’s efforts surpassed his magnificent 213 in the 2nd Test in Sabina Park since this time the Australians were on their toes, besides which it was a fifth-day pitch and there was a match to win. Arguably that innings in Jamaica was set a little too high because the bowling was patchy, the pitch friendly and circumstances less intense. Lara’s latest effort also outstripped his 277 six years prior in Sydney, a scintillating innings that seemed to mark the arrival of a phenomenon but an innings that otherwise had little consequence as the match petered out.
This time, the game was afoot. The West Indians had been in dreadful trouble at 98-6 as they chased Australia's 499. A fortnight earlier, they had been bowled out for 51 and a few months before, they’d been beaten 5-0 in South Africa. By turning all of these things upon their head, Lara re-asserted himself as a man. It was the innings of a truly great batsman and, of a leader, who had put aside his youthful yearnings and taken up his responsibilities as captain.
Lara didn't work alone. Even in defeat in Trinidad in the 1st Test, a re-invigorated spirit could be detected in his side. Solid men had been found, old lags like Sherwin Campbell and Jimmy Adams and fresh faces like Nehemiah Perry and Ridley Jacobs. Nor could the unity of the team be missed and credit must be given to Dr. Rudi Webster, not so much a psychologist as a cheerful mentor who has helped to restore happiness in the team by encouraging players to reach towards the better parts of themselves.
Even the public had responded by singing the anthem, Rally Round The West Indies and by wearing red and white on the opening day. Everyone was fed up with losing. Patently, South Africa was the low point. People cared too much to allow it to continue. The greatness that lies within was tapped and the most gifted cricketer of them all responded.
From the start of that nerve-jangling last day, Lara took charge of the match. He set himself out to conquer his opponents. Mindful of defeats and controversial dismissals, he had been waiting to beat the Australians for a long time. Now, he put himself to it with batting that combined composure and brilliance. Lara played late cuts of remarkable delicacy and force; pulls that almost broke the boundary boards; sumptuous off-drives and even a one-handed sweep. Between times he defended carefully, especially against the fast bowlers whose efforts were unflagging.
Once the pacemen rested, though, Lara tore into the spinners, thrashing them to leg or else through the covers. All too soon, the imbalance of the Australian attack was made plain. Nor could the decline of Shane Warne be hidden.
Lara’s assault continued until a bare handful of runs were needed. All he required was a little help from his friends and it came from Jimmy Adams and Curtly Ambrose. At the end, Courtney Walsh lent a hand, somehow keeping out a yorker and his captain to greater heights. Those last few minutes were agonising because Lara was exhausted and the impossible was within range. He fidgeted, flirted and flashed, he edged and escaped and could hardly lift his bat. Suddenly, a no-ball and a wide came along and the scores were level whereupon Lara lashed another cover-drive and raised his bat in celebration as colleagues and supports rushed pell-mell from the stands.
It had been a magnificent effort and it’s hard to recall a better innings or a more stirring match. It was a game dominated by its great players, Waugh, McGrath, Walsh and Lara. That Steve Waugh scored 199 and Glenn McGrath took nine wickets in the match and bowled 44 overs on the last day and still finished on the losing side; shows the magnitude of their efforts and the weaknesses uncovered in their team. Sadly, Ian Healy and Warne, previous pillars of strength, are struggled to recapture their former glories. Ricky Ponting and Sherwin Campbell played the innings of their lives and better days lie ahead for them.
Nonetheless, this match belonged to one man and his team, Lara took us all on a journey, a voyage that became a statement of his own maturity and exceptional ability. Few batsmen in the game’s history could have summoned such an innings at such a time. It was an extraordinary day. People who have ignored each other for years ended up as bosom pals. Pettiness was put aside. Lara had transcended all of that.
Afterwards, thousands of spectators stood around the pavilion to voice their happiness and support. The match wasn’t supposed to be seen on local television but, at noon, the Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, issued a decree permitting coverage. Spectators and viewers saw a wonderful match played on a superb pitch. The umpiring, too, was imperturbable and impeccable. If this doesn't bring West Indian youngsters back to the game, nothing will.
"It was the best game I've ever played in," an exhausted Australia captain Steve Waugh said afterwards. "I think a tie would have been a fair result."
Clive Lloyd, the West Indies manager, said: "We've had a number of good Tests at Barbados but that takes the biscuit. I thought Brian played brilliantly in Jamaica but this was genius stuff. To play as he did today, nursing along players with much less ability, was the hallmark of greatness. But he proved his greatness a long time ago.' Even Lara's biggest critic, the former fast bowler Michael Holding, said afterwards: 'Brian is a changed man and a better captain these days."
If the game in the Caribbean was dead, as many had suggested, there has been a resurrection. If the elfin-genius Lara was the villain of the local game after recent humiliations, he restored himself to glory with the greatest innings of even his remarkable career. It almost ended in anti-climax when he was dropped by wicketkeeper Ian Healy on 145 with West Indies still seven short of victory.
This was better than his 213 in Trinidad and certainly greater than his famous 375 and 501 because of the quality of the opposition and the enormous responsibility placed upon him.
By the end, Lara had batted for just five minutes under six hours, had faced 258 deliveries and scored 19 fours and a wonderful six, when he pulled the struggling Shane Warne into the Greenidge and Haynes Stand.
"I knew that if only I could bat to the end the others would stay with me," he said later.
Australia's frustrations showed when Lara was involved in a heated exchange with Glenn McGrath. Lara was struck on the head by a short delivery and an angry confrontation between the two ensued. Lara then appeared to make a complaint to the umpire, Ed Nicholls, before non-striker Jimmy Adams went down the pitch to calm his captain.
Lara's first fifty took 118 balls but his second came in only 51 more and he scored 32 runs in the half-hour after lunch. By then, at 186-5, Australia had taken the new ball but it was shared between McGrath and his captain, Steve Waugh. Jason Gillespie, Australia's best bowler in this match, was unable to bowl until 36 minutes after lunch because he had left the field with a back injury.
At the drinks interval, marking the halfway point in the day, West Indies were clear favourites at 230-5. Then, they lost three quick wickets and at tea, were 254-8, still needing 54 runs, with Lara on 112.
Adams was finally bowled for 38 by McGrath, who then steamed in to have Ridley Jacobs and Nehemiah Perry lbw with successive balls and West Indies were 248-8. It was the fourth time in the series that McGrath had taken five wickets in an innings.
Australia, however, suddenly no longer look the strongest side in the world. Ian Healy and Shane Warne are not the powers they once were, the batsmen are struggling and the captaincy of Waugh has looked shaky.
The 4-Match Test series was ultimately drawn, 2-2.
What Lara did was remarkable. He stayed composed (mostly) and helped his side to to achieve an improbable result. This performance marked what he could offer. He essentially epitomised what a true captain and leader should look and appear like.