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Brian Lara's phone call to Matthew Hayden after Aussie broke cricket's most iconic record

Brian Lara's phone call to Matthew Hayden after Aussie broke cricket's most iconic record

Courier-Mail6 days ago
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Brian Lara has revealed he rang the Australian dressing room in the middle of the night to congratulate Matthew Hayden on breaking his record, only to take it back the following year.
Cricket fanatics would have been nostalgic for Lara's left handed strokemaking during the West Indies' 3-0 Test series loss to Australia in the Caribbean this month, but he still holds arguably cricket's most iconic record.
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Lara's knock of 400 not out against England in Antigua in 2004 remains the highest individual score by a batter in Test cricket and it doesn't look like being broken any time soon.
Even on the rare occasions players come close, they are reluctant to even consider chasing the record and wiping the West Indies legend from the history books.
South Africa's Wiaan Mulder scored 367 not out against Zimbabwe earlier this month, but his coach Shukri Conrad made the call to declare at 5/626 to let Lara's record live another day.
'Speaking to coach Shukri Conrad (Shuks) he kinda said to me: 'Listen, let the legends keep the really good scores',' Mulder said.
Matthew Hayden kisses his bat as he leaves the field after scoring 380.
Brian Lara and Matthew Hayden have a confrontation in 2003. Photo: Phil Hillyard.
Lara has held the record twice — he scored 375 against England as a youngster in 1994, which remained as Test cricket's highest individual score until Hayden bludgeoned 380 against Zimbabwe at the WACA in 2003.
Speaking on The Overlap and Betfair's Stick to Cricket show, Lara recalled the moment he found out Hayden had broken his record, as you can watch in the video above.
'I was asleep in Jamaica and my agent called me and said, 'I have a number for you to call in the Perth dressing room, someone just broke your record',' Lara said.
'So, I called the dressing room. It was very noisy, very loud and I got to Matthew then congratulated him.'
Matthew Hayden breaks the world record of 375 runs, held by Brian Lara, by finishing with 380 against Zimbabwe.
Lara didn't have to wait too long to get the record back, famously scoring 400 in the fourth Test of the 2004 series against England in Antigua.
'Funnily enough, I felt that for that 10-year period I had a lot of stress because of those records,' he conceded.
'One of my things was to try and be a good captain and leader, not to be strangled by the record, so I didn't worry too much about it - but then came England again 10 years later …'
Lara is one of 15 players who have scored 10,000 Test runs — he finished his 131-match career with 34 centuries at an average of 52.9.
Brian Lara celebrates breaking the world record of 380 runs on his way to 400 not out in 2004.
Lara gets a guard of honour from teammates after his 400.
The 56-year-old also shared his reverence for the late Shane Warne, with whom he shared many great battles on the field. The pair later became great friends before the legspinner's tragic death in 2022.
'Of course I got on with Shane Warne, we had a great time together,' Lara said.
'He is the best - I'd go out to bat against Muttiah Muralitharan, and I was confused.
'He gave me more pressure than Shane, but I'd walk out to bat against Shane and the ball would be coming off the middle and about 2-3pm he just produces this magical delivery or spell.
'That's why I rate him higher, because I think he was mentally stronger. With his bowling attack and the pitches he bowled on which favoured the fast bowlers, for him to pick up that number of wickets is very special.'
'The best team I ever faced by far was Australia in 1995. The defeat in the West Indies for the first time in 50 years, from then we were unable to turn things around - they were the toughest but also brought out the best in me.'
Originally published as Brian Lara's phone call to Matthew Hayden after Aussie broke cricket's most iconic record
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‘It's a huge upset': Beating the USA in a relay is sweet. Australia's underdog swimmers just did it twice in 15 minutes
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‘It's a huge upset': Beating the USA in a relay is sweet. Australia's underdog swimmers just did it twice in 15 minutes

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Melbourne Vixens stun NSW Swifts in preliminary final comeback, grand final vs West Coast Fever
Melbourne Vixens stun NSW Swifts in preliminary final comeback, grand final vs West Coast Fever

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Don't miss out on the headlines from Netball. Followed categories will be added to My News. Melbourne Vixens are riding high after a last ditch effort to beat the NSW Swifts by 66 to 65 points, to book their place in the 2025 Super Netball grand final. They came from behind in the dying seconds of the game, having trailed 51-41 after the third quarter, and will go into next week's match full of confidence having won eight of their last ten games. Watch every game of the 2025 Suncorp Super Netball season, LIVE on Kayo. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Standing in their way however, will be the formidable West Coast Fever, who demolished the Swifts by 32 points in last weekend's major semi-final. Speaking post match captain and MVP Kate Moloney said, 'I'm exhausted but I'm so bloody proud. We were down by ten goals and we found something in that last quarter and they just never stopped fighting.' Coaching her second last match with the Vixens, Simone McKinnis, added, 'We weren't going to walk away from here afraid to take risks. They saw a glimpse and a hope and away they went.' It was the greatest preliminary final comeback in Super Netball history, beating the nine-goal market the Vixens set in 2022 against the Giants. It was a dismal end to the season for Swifts, despite the return of inspirational captain Paige Hadley who has missed the last two rounds with a foot injury. While she provided a calm head and safe pair of hands, the Swifts have been bundled out of the finals in straight sets, after looking untouchable as they went undefeated through the first eight rounds. Melbourne Vixens players celebrate. (Photo by) Simone McKinnis inspired her players. (Photo by) There was immense pressure from the opening whistle, causing fumbles, stray passes and uncharacteristic missed shots. The Swifts were first to take advantage of those errors, going long and high to Grace Nweke in the circle. Despite her athleticism, some balls were sprayed over her head or swatted away by goal keeper Rudi Ellis who finished with six gains, allowing the Vixens to shift gears and take a three point lead into the first break. The Swifts hit the front in the second quarter as their confidence grew, with Helen Housby raising the bar after a quiet few weeks. Passes started going in more smoothly to the circle, with Nweke lifting her shooting from a subpar 77 percent in the first quarter to a total of 53/58 at 91 percent across the match. With the Swifts' Sharni Lambden applying enormous pressure at wing defence, Vixens' skipper Moloney did everything she could to pull her side over the line. She had a strong connection with Sophie Garbin under the post, who picked up the slack while the hero of so many victories, Kiera Austin, struggled for influence early on. The Swifts couldn't believe it. (Photo by Mark) The Vixens seemed down and out of the contest with the deficit sitting at 11 points and their penalties twice their opponents, until Lily Graham sank consecutive supershots to bring the margin back to single digits. In an inspirational last quarter Austin finally switched on her radar when it counted, firing in three long range shots to finish with 12/16 including four from five supershots, while her partner Garbin had a solid 46/47. The Vixens found another gear and rolled over the Swifts in highly emotional scenes. MCKINNIS MAGIC Simone McKinnis will make her final appearance as Vixens' coach in next weekend's grand final, after 212 games in charge of the club. Across 13 years, she's taken them to two titles, three minor premierships and a further three grand final appearances, and will leave massive shoes to fill. It looked like it was going to be McKinnis' final game in charge at the end of the third quarter but an inspiration and emotional final address helped inspire the Vixens to life. 'We have nothing to lose here! Except for throwing our best selves as this contest,' McKinnis said. PAIN FOLLOWS A POINT Remarkably, the previous three Super Netball preliminary finals have been decided by a solitary point, with the Vixens taking out two of those wins, and the Swifts the other. Despite moving on into the grand final, neither side was then able to steal the ultimate victory. Originally published as Super Netball stunner as emotional speech sparks all-time Vixens comeback

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