Windies legend launches book – Lara: The England Chronicles

On April 12, 2004, the prince of Port of Spain, Brian Lara, continued his love affair with the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) venue when he swept English off-spinner Gareth Batty to fine leg to become the first batsman to reach the 400-mark in the history of Test cricket.

Lara's innings in the fourth and final Test against England will be remembered by cricket fans the world over, as the majestic Cantaro Village, Santa Cruz left-hander reclaimed his Test world record from Australian Matthew Hayden, who had plundered 380 versus Zimbabwe just six months before.

In the eyes of many West Indians, Lara's 400 not out saw him going back to his rightful place atop the individual batting charts in Test cricket. It was an innings which underscored the brilliance and genius of the man.

Now 55, Lara has given his adoring fans many brilliant innings to cherish, with his scores of 400, 375, 277 and 501 never too far from any cricket conversation about the great man.

On September 17, 2024, two decades after one of his finest cricketing achievements, Lara launched his book, Lara: The England Chronicles, at his picturesque home, which overlooks the Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain.

Rapso singer and actor Wendell Manwarren described the book as a "story of a genius" as it gave the history behind "the man who changed the game of cricket."

At the launch, Manwarren read several excerpts from the book, which included Lara's first encounters with the legendary pair of Sir Garfield Sobers and Sir Vivian Richards – both of whom Lara holds in very high regard.

"I'm happy he's getting the opportunity to share with other people as well because there are some amazing moments and difficult moments as well. He was able to thrive and get through some of these moments and continue to be successful," said former Soca Warriors playmaker and coach Russell Latapy, who has known Lara from childhood.

"In my mind, Brian is the greatest batsman that ever lived...There were so many moments from the book, it's really difficult to really choose a favourite one."

From as early as his fifth Test match, Lara showed his appetite for big runs when he smashed 277 in Sydney in 1993 against an Australian attack that included a young Shane Warne. Lara had many epic battles against the late Warne, Steve Waugh and the Aussies and he promised to release a separate book on those fierce battles.

For now, Lara is focusing on his tussles against the England team against whom he broke Sobers' record of 365, and the country in which he scored an astounding 501 not out in a county championship match for Warwickshire in June 1994.

Just two months before his quintuple hundred, Lara had reached the heights of Test cricket for the first time when he scorched 375 against Andy Caddick and the England attack at the ARG to put the exclamation point on a 3-1 series win for the hosts.

Lara played 30 Tests and 29 One-day Internationals (ODIs) versus the English, rattling off seven centuries and racking up an impressive 62.14 Test average against the opposition.

"(This book is) a journey through my career, maybe against one nation. It has the highs and lows. It has me coming back from tough situations to get back to the top," Lara told Newsday.

"We want the boys and girls to understand that talent is one thing. You've got to be tenacious and you've got to be willing to pick yourself up when you fall down for years," he said.

"That's been my life. Not only in cricket. Things didn't come easily, I had to work really hard and I had to dig deep."

The attentive audience included Sport and Community Development Minister Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis, Queen's Park Cricket Club president Dr Nigel Camacho, members of TT's under-17 cricket team and former West Indies and Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) captain Dwayne Bravo, who will retire from the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament after the ongoing season.

Manwarren's storytelling skilfully took the audience through time and recounted defining moments in Lara's career. From Sobers telling a young Lara to keep his eye on the ball in a net session, to Sir Viv venting to an unsuspecting Lara as the Antiguan's sterling career appeared to be coming to an end, the audience was there.

"(Sobers is) the greatest cricketer to have ever played the game. It was true when he played the game, and it's true today," Lara said, reading an excerpt from the book.

"He also loves me and I love him for that. From an early age, he always believed in me and he expressed it openly. Such words from somebody like Sobers can injure, as well as inspire a teenager. But his words always gave me strength."

Lara's elegance was something to behold when he was on the go, and he was a nightmare for opposing pacers and spinners – his footwork in a class of its own. At the end of a West Indies career which started in Lahore against Pakistan in 1990 and ended against England in a 2007 World Cup match at Kensington Oval in Barbados, Lara had conquered cricket. He scored 34 hundreds in 131 Test matches, to go along with 19 ODI hundreds – amassing over 20,000 runs for the regional team.

Lara's eventual exit from the game was not one he or his fans would have dreamt of, as the prince was unceremoniously run out by Kevin Pietersen after a mixup with Marlon Samuels. The Lara-led Windies agonisingly lost in the last over against the English as they made an early exit from the World Cup on home soil.

"Don't get me wrong. I don't feel comfortable with it and I'm definitely not happy with it. It's all part of my story. Cricket is the cruelest of all games," reads an excerpt from the book, recalling the run out. "When you're out, there are no second chances."

Pietersen's bullet throw may have brought Lara's storied career to an end in Bridgetown, but three years before, Lara's Windies had the last say against England when they copped the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy in the dark at The Oval, London.

Though he achieved world records against England, he said the 2004 Champions Trophy win remains one of his proudest moments.

"When you play with team spirit, these (individual) moments, no matter how great they are, may not rival something like the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy victory.

"That was a very special moment for me. If you talk about ratings, that is rated highest on the list."

Lara: The England Chronicles is priced at $225, and Lara hopes to have copies in bookstores around the country in short order.

Starting with TKR's CPL match with Guyana Amazon Warriors on September 18, Lara also plans on doing a CPL book tour for the five TKR matches to be played in Trinidad.

Part of the proceeds of the book sales will go towards the non-profit organisation the Heroes Foundation.

At the launch, several of Lara's closest friends and mentors were given copies of the book, as well as members of the TT under-17 cricket team and two Fatima College students who read excerpts during the launch.