400*: When Lara Placed Himself Ahead Of His Team by Garfield Robinson

www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/741007.html

On a pitch prepared by another Antigua legend, Andy Roberts :

Lara won his third toss of the series and batted.

"[Roberts] couldn't bear the prospect of a Windies whitewash," wrote the then Wisden !

"so came up with just about the most benign pitch spotted outside the drier parts of India"

Few expected anything other than a flat, unhelpful track aimed at allowing West Indies

to salvage some pride.

None envisaged quite how flat. 

Let's be honest, Roy Orbison could have scored 400 not out on that pitch !

Article in the Sun..

By the end of the first day he had made 86 .....out of 208 for 2 :

by the end of the second he was on 313 .........out of 595 for 5.

As Lara approached the record on the third morning he was partnered by:

Ridley Jacobs, two years his senior, a marked contrast to 1994 :

when he had been calmed by an old head on young shoulders -19-year-old Shiv Chanderpaul.

There's a time to win a match and a time to break a record. If Lara had attempted to win the match and succeeded, it would have meant very little and been completely forgotten. But by going for the record and breaking it, meant far far more for lifting  Caribbean spirits and infusing some dignity. While going for the win is paramount in most cases, in this case an exception has to be made. Just check for most number of runs in a losing cause, and see how often Lara's name pops up.

To get back the record required real character and determination. Lara had this in him and proved it. If it were not for the tussle with his board, he would have created more historical landmarks.

Correct is right ....... even though I admit my feelings were somewhat mixed at the time....

Lets not forget that Walsh also had the record for the highest wicket taker at  the time and so the Windians had the the two most important records in international cricket.... battin and bowlin