Brian Lara playing a pull shot during the just concluded three-Test series against Australia. - REUTERS
london, cmc
FORMER ENGLAND CAPTAIN Michael Atherton has labeled champion West Indies batsman Brian Lara as the most gifted player of the current generation of batsmen.
"For now, though, it is enough to concentrate on the indisputable: that Lara is the most gifted player of this generation; that he is, by a distance, the most watchable and, because of the flaws, by far the most interesting," Atherton wrote in his column in the London Sunday Telegraph.
"Ask yourself who you would rather watch: Lara or the flawless but rigid Jacques Kallis? I certainly cannot think of a modern-day batsman I would rather watch. Unpredictability is at the heart of great sport and no batsman, in mood or method, is more unpredictable than Lara."
BATSMANSHIP AT ITS PUREST
He added: "In that sense, although (Allan) Border remains a cricketer who inspired me as much as any other, it is an entirely good thing that he has been surpassed. Lara stands for batsmanship at its purest, at its most instinctive."
"The image of him with his backlift so high that it almost touches the back of his head recalls the unfettered batting of a golden age, when attacking instincts dominated and when wristiness and placement mattered more than the size of muscles and weight of bat."
"In that sense Lara's influence on batting has been splendid, showing that run-scoring can be for artists as well as artisans. It is not enough any more to grind out scores Border-style and that is an entirely good thing."
Lara became the highest run-scorer in Tests when he overhauled Border's record of 11,174 last weekend, with his 226 in the first innings of the third and final Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval.
ATHER'S FAVOURITE
Atherton said despite Lara's many record-breaking innings, his favourite remained the unbeaten 153 made against Australia at Kensington Oval in 1999.
"He single-handedly won the match and saved his own captaincy by doing so," Atherton noted. "It is, I think, the best innings I have ever seen. A Lara hundred reminds us why we play the game, and what we should all aspire to, even if it is out of reach."
Atherton said what made Lara an interesting batsman was the fact that despite his many obvious weaknesses, he still had managed to achieve greatness.
"There cannot be many great batsmen who have had so many obvious weaknesses.
He is jumpy against pace - the quicker the bowling the more he jumps back and across his crease," Atherton continued. "He flinches more often than most to bouncers. It would have been interesting to watch Lara bat in a pre-helmet age. Some of his later innings (including the record-breaking ones) have been scored, as his double in Adelaide has, in dead rubbers, on dead pitches. Those achievements say as much as anything about his motivation."
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