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Watching Teletext at home, feeling roughly the same as you - “it’s only Durham… I could rack up a century against Durham FFS…”
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Lara’s 501
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of June Leave a comment on this post
Thanks to Ryan for pointing this out. 12 years ago today, Brian Lara struck that incredible 501 for Warwickshire against Durham. I was at school at the time, a mere 12-year-old, and I remember my Dad picking me up at about 6pm.
Back in those days, the mobile phone was a distant dream. Only rich yuppies (remember them? Ah, the 1980s…) could afford the breeze-block Nokias, and even then they had no one else to phone. So I clearly remember my old man shouting down the drive, as I was making my way up it, “Lara’s gone mad Will! 500!” Obviously I thought he’d finally lost the plot, and peered into the back windows of the car for the Men In White. But they weren’t there. After completely refusing to believe him for the entire 10-minute car journey, the radio came on to confirm my worst and best fears.
I didn’t know what to think. After his 375, which incidentally was made on the tour which first sparked my interest in the game, it was plain as day that he was an extraordinary cricketer. But the 501? It took the biscuit - and I couldn’t help thinking “Well it’s Durham for God’s sake. Durham.” And back then, Durham really were very Durham, not the chirpy, confident side of 12 years hence.
Where were you when he did it?
Tags: 501, brian-lara, durham, warwickshire |
8 Responses to “Lara’s 501”
June 6th, 2006 at 10.14 pm
June 7th, 2006 at 10.39 am
I was enjoying my first year in Germany and preparing for my wedding, so was in touch with the UK a lot. My friends and family kept calling me with …”you are not going to believe this, but …”. I thought they were pulling a practical joke on me at the time.
June 7th, 2006 at 8.32 pm
Living in Spain….I was only 3 then. 
June 7th, 2006 at 11.22 pm
I had been roped into playing tennis for the school (and lost 6-0 6-1). Meanwhile, my brother and mate were picked up by his dad, and driven to Edgbaston (we went to school nearby) to watch Lara’s progress.
When he reached 501 they subsequently ran onto the pitch, and featured alongside him in quite a few newspaper pictures the next day (and the evening news, etc).
I’ve never played tennis since.
June 7th, 2006 at 11.27 pm
[…] Before you click on the link, can you remember what happened 12 years ago this month…?. […]
June 8th, 2006 at 10.20 am
June 10th, 2006 at 1.12 pm
I was only 6 then Will, I don’t remember.
June 11th, 2006 at 7.49 am
Having listened to the end of the England-NZ Test which ended that morning (Trent Brisge, I think) I’d spent the rest of the day working (looking after archives in a crappy warehouse on the outskirts of Exeter) and was having a tea break at 4 o’clock with Radio Four news on. I vividly remember the newsreader saying that Lara was 418 not out and blurting out ‘bloody hell!’ to the surprise of my female colleagues who didn’t know one end of a cricket bat from the other (and still don’t). Left work early, drove home quickly, put on R5 and caught the coverage, which was live towards the end, with Johnny Morris bowling. Still got the tape somewhere.
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