Brian Lara made history by being the only player ever to score more than 400 runs in a single innings of a Test match. This incredible achievement happened back in 2004 when England visited the Caribbean for a four-match series. Lara, who captained the West Indies at the time, hit an unbeaten 400 runs off 582 balls during the first innings of the last Test at the Antigua Recreation Ground in St. John’s on April 12.
His remarkable innings included 43 fours and four sixes, smashing the previous record for the highest score in Test cricket set by Australia’s Matthew Hayden, who had scored 380 runs against Zimbabwe in Perth just a few months earlier. At that point in the series, the West Indies were struggling, having lost the first three Tests. They entered the fourth match determined not to end up without a win in front of their home crowd.
When Lara won the toss, he chose to bat first. The West Indies didn’t get off to the best start, losing opening batsman Daren Ganga early. But Lara teamed up with Chris Gayle, who scored 69 runs before he was dismissed. After that, Lara formed a massive partnership with Ramnaresh Sarwan, putting together 230 runs, with Sarwan finishing just short of a century at 90 runs. Ridley Jacobs also made a crucial contribution, helping Lara push the score to 751 runs before the West Indies declared, having lost five wickets.
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In reply, England struggled right from the start, with their top order collapsing under the pressure. The West Indies fast bowlers, Pedro Collins and Tino Best, were on fire with the new ball, taking a combined total of seven wickets. Andrew Flintoff managed to put up some resistance for the English side, scoring 102 runs, while Mark Butcher added 52 runs to the tally. Ultimately, England was bowled out for 285 in their first innings, leading them to follow on.
During the second innings, England’s captain Michael Vaughan scored a solid 140 runs, while his teammates Marcus Trescothick and Nasser Hussain also chipped in with scores of 88 and 56 respectively. Butcher came back to bat in this innings as well, contributing another 61 runs from 164 balls. By the end of Day 5, England had reached a total of 422 runs for five wickets, securing a hard-fought draw in the Test match. As a result, the English team clinched the series 3-0, but Lara’s personal record remained untouchable.
