Brian Lara Would Have Loved To See David Warner "Race Towards" His Record 400

Legendary batsman Brian Lara said that he wanted Australian opener David Warner to try and break his world record Test score of 400, that he got against England in 2004. Warner was batting on 335 in Australia's second Test against Pakistan, when captain Tim Paine decided to declare. Paine waited for Warner to cross the 334-run mark - the highest scores of former Australia captains Don Bradman and Mark Taylor - before calling the batsmen back to the pavilion. But Lara said that he wanted Warner to have a go at his record, saying that "records are meant to be broken".

"After passing Sir Donald Bradman I would have loved to see him race towards me," Lara was quoted as saying by News Corp.

"It was a great innings. I can see that Australia winning the match was the major thing and the weather was a big factor, but I would have loved to have seen Australia go for it," Lara added.

Being here (in Adelaide) I would have loved to see it. Even if they say 'hey David, you have got 12 overs, see if you could do it by tea time' ... it would have been great," he said, adding that "they were justified by picking up six wickets last night and you can see today things are slower so the declaration came at the right time."

"I was getting dressed to come back near the end of his innings. I was listening to commentators say whether he would have a go at Matthew Hayden's 380 but I felt if he got to 381 he would have to have a go at my record," the flamboyant left-hander said.

Lara twice held the record for the highest Test score. Before his 400, he had scored 375 in 1994, going past compatriot Gary Sobers' then highest score of 365. When Lara went past 365 in Barbados, Sobers had walked out to congratulate him on breaking his record.

Lara said he was looking forward to doing the same for Warner.

"It would have been amazing to walk out there (as Sobers did)," Lara said.

"Records are made to be broken. It's great when they are broken by attacking players. Entertainers," Lara added.

Being in Adelaide I would have got an opportunity to if not walk out at least meet him at this opportune time," he said.

Lara heaped more praise on Warner for his destructive ability with the bat.

"He is a very attacking player and that is the sort of player who can always set you up for a win. I know you need stabilisers but you also need one or two players like David Warner and Sir Vivian Richards who can take the game with their bats," he said.

Warner's best-ever Test knock helped Australia post a mammoth 589/3 in the first innings. In response Pakistan were bowled out for 302 and were then asked to follow on.

Australia lead the two-Test series 1-0 against Pakistan and are on the verge of a clean sweep at home.

(With inputs from IANS)

Topics mentioned in this article

David Warner Brian Lara Australia Cricket Team Cricket