Published: Mar 07, 2015, 07:00 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 12, 2017, 07:52 PM (IST)
Brian Lara had finished as the leading run-scorer in Tests, but did not play a single T20I. On November 13, 2010, more than three-and-a-half years of his last international match, Lara made a surprise T20 appearance. Abhishek Mukherjee looks back at one of the most bizarre debuts.
Had he been born ten, or even five years later, Brian Lara would have been a champion of the T20 era. Unfortunately, by the time he quit Tests and ODIs, Twenty20 cricket was yet to take off to the extent it did in a couple of years after he retired. As batsmen with pedigree nowhere close to Lara’s dominate proceedings in Twenty20 cricket, one wonders what the legend might have done as the boundaries got shorter, bats got better, and bowlers beneath international level got exposed.
Lara did play 3 Twenty20 matches, all of them in Harare. Southern Rocks already had a competitive squad, consisting of Elton Chigumbura, Chamu Chibhabha, Sikandar Raza, Tatenda Taibu, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Craig Ervine, Alester Maregwede, Michael Chinouya, and Stuart Matsikenyeri — all of whom had played or would play international cricket.
In 2010-11, their overseas players included Chris Harris and Steve Tikolo. Desperate to boost the strength of the squad, they bolstered the line-up with Ryan Sidebottom, and — Lara.
A shade of Compton
Mashonaland Eagles had a star-studded line-up as well. After Tikolo put them in, Nick Compton walked out, and eased into proceedings though Eagles lost 2 quick wickets. Ryan ten Doeschate fell after a 34-ball stand of 52, and Rocks pulled things back, picking up quick wickets. Compton was eventually run out by Chibhabha for a 50-ball 70, and Eagles were reduced to 129 for 8 with a mere 15 balls to go.
Ryan Butterworth (yet to face a ball) and Trevor Garwe then got together and launched a furious onslaught. The 2 wickets never fell, and a whopping 45 came off the last 15 balls; there were 3 fours and 4 sixes. While Butterworth’s 28 came from 13 balls, Garwe (who had played an ODI) scored 25 from 8. Eagles finished on 174 for 8.
The prince
The crowd did not have to wait long. Andrew Hall bowled a maiden over, and had Chibhabha caught-behind off the last ball. Out strode Lara — for the first time in a match with Twenty20 status — to join Sikandar Raza.
To the surprise of everyone (was Raza surprised as well?) Raza dominated the stand with a 20-ball 33 as he and Lara added 53 in 37 balls. But then, Lara had been inactive for ages: he had not played competitive cricket since a Carib Beer match against Leeward Islands in 2007-08. True, he had played for MCC against the touring Pakistanis at Lord’s earlier in June, but that was not a serious affair.
Lara took charge. The Eagles attack, consisting of Hall, Garwe, Ray Price, ten Doeschate, Greg Lamb, and the evergreen Grant Flower, was a formidable one — but they were no match for the genius of Lara. With Taibu holding one end up, Lara opened up in a way he could, reaching 50 from 40 balls. The fifty-run partnership with Raza had come up in 39 balls; the one with Taibu took the same.
Then Lara fell, caught by Forster Mutizwa off the wily Price. The crowd came to his feet as he left ground, head held high, his 65 having come off a mere 47; there were 8 fours and a six, and Rocks needed a mere 42 from 22 balls with Taibu still there. When Garwe started the 18th over, Rocks needed another 40.
Then Garwe produced a match-changing over: he trapped Chigumbura leg-before first ball; Tikolo was caught by Compton off the third, as did the set Taibu off the fifth; and Tendai Chisoro was bowled off the sixth. The quadruple-blow over sealed the match in Eagles’ favour.
Garwe caught Matsikenyeri (who eventually walked out at No. 9) off Hall, and came back to bowl the last over with Rocks 9 wickets down. He finished things off by running out Kamungozi; poor Harris, who should certainly have batted higher, was left stranded. Rocks lost 8 wickets for 13 runs from 18 balls, and lost the match by 28 runs.
What followed?
– Lara played 2 more matches for Rocks in that year’s Stanbic Bank Twenty20. Against Mid West Rhinos he scored a 28-ball 23 but Rocks fell short by 11 runs. He opened batting against Matabeleland Tuskers and fell to Keith Dabengwa for an 11-ball 11. He did not play anymore. The great man finished his T20 career with 99 runs at 33 and a strike rate of 115.1.
– Lara did not play the last league match against Mountaineers, which Rocks won to reach the semi-final. Rocks lost the semi-final against Rhinos as well as the third place play-off against Tuskers.
– Lara had a bidding price of $400,000 for IPL 2011 but went unsold.
Brief scores:
Mashonaland Eagles 174 for 8 in 20 overs (Nick Compton 70; Chamu Chibhabha 3 for 27) beat Southern Rocks 146 in 19.2 overs (Brian Lara 65; Andrew Hall 3 for 20, Trevor Garwe 4 for 28) by 28 runs.
Man of the Match: Trevor Garwe.
