In Brian Lara's Own Words...

Brian Lara again sits alone at the top of Test cricket's individual batting throne.

Just 185 days after losing the world record to Australia's Matthew Hayden, Lara set the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) alight with an unbeaten knock of 400 that sets the bar at a level never before seen. In all, he faced 582 balls, hitting 43 fours and four sixes. After the day's play, Lara shared his thoughts with journalists...

The double decker stand was making so much of noise (laughs) when he called. He was very congratulatory. He said he was listening (on the radio). He expressed that he was very happy for me and my family and my teammates. He thought he was still capable along with a host of other cricketers in the world. I think it is going to be broken one day. I really do appreciate the fact that he took time out to call.

It's the largest, but was it the best?

I rate my innings mainly on the worth of it. I'd like to see the outcome of this match first. There have been a lot of other (important) innings in the history of West Indies cricket. The 153 against Australia in Barbados still stands out. If we can get a victory here, that would make be nice. We're pushing to get another 15 wickets here and force a win in this game.

When did you start to think it was on?

When I ended the first day, I knew the pitch was one that would help batsmen that applied themselves. I knew that that toughest time for the opposition bowlers would be with the new ball. I knew that if I batted enough time, I'd get a decent score. I thought about it, I'd say, maybe when I passed the double century and I realised there was a lot of time left. The match was still very fresh. Yes, we want to have a win. But, the rate we were scoring, I knew it was always possible.

Everyone has focused on you today but talk about the batting of Ridley Jacobs in that partnership.

He was tremendous. When he got bowled (off the no-ball), I went down and said; 'are you going to stay with me now?' (smiles). It was necessary that he stay there. The bowlers would have put a lot of pressure on the lower order so that was an amazing innings by him. And it's good for him to deal with the pressure. A lot of people have been talking about Ridley in the last couple of matches. He is a fighter. To get another Test hundred was great and I'm really, really happy for him.

A lot of people have been talking about you too Brian...

Yeah, I heard so (laughs). It's a situation where my leadership was under scrutiny. But, as a batsman, I do back myself all the time to go out there and get runs. I never put myself under pressure in terms of selection as an individual player. The team situation really and truly spurs me on. I enjoyed the occasion over the last two-and-a-half days. It was great. People might have been asking questions but I'm sure it was not about my place in the final XI. It was more about my leadership...

(Umpire) Darryl Hair always seems to be around when you are making these big records. What did he say to you?

(Smiles) He just recounted the other occasions. He was here for the 375 and also for the 277 and maybe a couple of others. Maybe he'll be around for some more to come, I don't know (smile).

What about the support from the public here...

It was great but we're still outnumbered. As you can see, there's a lot more English fans here. Back at the hotel, at Jolly Beach, a lot of the English people said they came to see me back in Trinidad and in Barbados and asked if I could please score a hundred. To go on to get 400, I think they would be happy to savour the moment. The support has been great all around the the Caribbean and I felt it throughout. I got a call from my Prime Minister and a call from Ernie Els, the guy who came second in the (golf) Masters. It's been really, really great. I must mention my teammates. They've been spectacular in the last few days, really spurring me on.

At age 34, I'm doing a lot more work being with Ronald Rogers (trainer) and Andrew (physio). I must commend them for the sort of effort they're getting out of me at age 34. I wasn't doing that at 24. It's amazing to work so hard and finally see the results for it.

Last night, a local businessman said he had a big cheque prepared to give to you. Have you received it?

I'm not interested in cheques. I'm interested in 15 wickets.

Did you miss having the record for 185 days?

As I said before, Matthew breaking the record was going to catapult me into doing different things for West Indies cricket. I didn't miss it. I wanted to be a little more consistent and leave a different legacy on the game. I didn't have the record to fall back on. Now, I do but I still think that consistency is going to be the order of the day for me. That's why I'm still disappointed that I wasn't able to score more runs in this series. But, I'm still happy. I'm proud and happy for my family. They've all been very supportive, even during the time when I lost it. They called this morning to ensure that I got it back today.

And this does mean something for the people in the West Indies, doesn't it?

It's great. You have to remember, 36 years before 10 years ago, Sir Garfield Sobers held the record. I held it for ten years and lost it for six months. Now, it's back in the Caribbean. But I think the fans would more appreciate it if we could get a more collective effort from everyone. West Indies cricket doesn't want to depend on one or two individual performances and records. We want to be playing as a team, giving an all-round effort. I think the fans will be much happier if they can see that.

Mohamed Ali won his World title back at age 32. You did it at age 34. Which is the greater achievement?

His, by far (laughs). I'm not going into a ring (more laughter). My ring was much bigger out there.

You kissed the pitch when you got the record. Was that in homage to Chanderpaul?

I did it ten years ago, so it's a situation where I did it for the pitch.

How different was it batting with Ridley here, as opposed to Chanderpaul during the 375?

It's now a bit different. Chanderpaul was playing in his first series and he was great at that time. He was very supportive out there, speaking to me all the time...same with Ridley. Ridley has an older head on his shoulder compared with Chanderpaul 10 years ago and you really appreciate the fact that you have someone out there spurring you on, making sure you play the right way towards achieving it.

Do you expect to win from here Brian?

I think there's a lot left in the game. We've ruled out losing, which is great. If we can go out there, finish off the lower and get back into England again, it would be nice. It's going to be tough with guys like Vaughn and Trescothick buckling down but I think it's an opportunity for us to gain a victory here. It would be really good for us.

What does the ARG mean to you?

I have a great relationship with this ground. Not just the records but over the years, it has been great to us. As a team, we scored 418 last year to win a Test match. Not only myself, but everyone enjoys it.

Brian, how disappointed were you with not getting a sixth wicket this afternoon?

Very, very disappointed. I thought I had it (the dropped catch off Flintoff) but unfortunately it slipped out...

Does that alter your game plan? I'm sure going into this afternoon, you must have thought about getting six or seven wickets...

I'll tell you this, if we got three or four wickets, we'd be in a good position. To have five wickets going into the fourth day, we're thinking positively. There's still a lot of time left in the game and we'll be looking to get among them out as quickly as possibly. There's always the option of the new ball playing a big part. We've got Sarwan and we'll try to use him as much as possible over the next few days (to get to the new ball). Unfortunately, we don't have a specialist spinner but the ones that we have will have to do a big job to ensure we get a victory.

Is that the reason you didn't use your pacers towards the end?

The fast bowlers were very tired and we also had Tino Best injured and could not come back. That's unfortunate but hopefully he'll be fit tomorrow.

That little mishap at the end (the dropped catch)...Was that the game's way of bringing you back down to earth...

I wish it would have found another way (smile). My feet are well planted on the ground. My goals and the team goals are to get West Indies cricket back to the top. One individual can't do that. Records can't do that. We have to see team performances. Australia is a perfect example. One day it's Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden...The next day it's Gilchrist, Langer... We need to have that collective effort from everyone. That's what we're going to be working towards.

Achieving what I did today was great for me personally. But I hope that it helps to bring the team much closer together and get some big performances out of the younger players. I hope it can even bring the islands together and foster more cohesiveness.

Should we expect 500 against Bangladesh?

(Smile)...(Laughter)...(Exits without answering).