Lara overjoyed to meet God Daughter Shamilka

Elmo RODRIGOPULLE

The West Indian genius, stylish left hander and run making machine, tagged the Prince of Trinidad Brian Charles Lara was easily the most outstanding figure at the launch of the Sri Lanka Premier League at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Friday.

After Australia's Sir Donald Bradman and India's Sachin Tendulkar, Lara is the next best thing that happened to the time honoured game of cricket.

Lara broke Sir Garfield Sobers' record individual score of 365 not out made against Pakistan in 1958, when Lara was not even born.

Brian Lara cuddling his God Daughter Shamilka in the company of Achira and Suresh Edirisinghe and their other two daughters Chamaya and Suhara.

That score by the great Sobers who was also a left hander would have gone to inspire Lara in his cricketing career.

Before going on to say more about Lara, and how his career that had more cricket when it came to an inglorious end, Lara who spoke at the launch, while thanking the organizers for inviting him, said that while he was happy to meet some of his cricketing friends and cricketers in Sri Lanka, his biggest joy was to meet and cuddle his god daughter Shamilka.

Shamilka is the daughter of Suresh and Achira Edirisinghe. Suresh and Achira have been very close and are dear friends of Lara and they keep in constant touch.

Suresh is the son of Gamini, owner of Edirisinghe Bros, the motor people who are associated with Sri Lanka Cricket providing their luxury coaches for local and visiting cricket teams.

Incidentally I was there in the Caribbean covering the 2007 World Cup for the 'Daily News' and the 'Sunday Observer' which brought about Lara's cricketing career to an end.

Lara was captain of the Windies and a great responsibility was thrust on his shoulders to repeat the acts of the Windies teams of 1975 and'79 led by Clive Lloyd which won the first two Word Cups in England.

Lara's team did not have the wizards of Clive Lloyd's team. He showed signs of leading them to success, but their game suddenly ran into turbulence losing games and then began the vicious campaign to oust him, with unfounded allegations being made, with former Windies pace aces Colin Croft and Michael Holding leading the way.

His final innings in the Caribbean ended in disaster, when if my memory serves me right he was run out by Marlon Samuels when looking set for a big score.

Unable to take the scathing attacks, Lara like a true sportsman gave up the game that he loved and performed with religious fervour and so brilliantly.

He had a lot more cricket left in him and after his quitting West Indies cricket has not been the same again.

It certainly would have hurt him, considering that he did so much to give the game a place in the sun once again.

Lara broke Sobers' batting record and went onto make an unbeaten 375 against England.

When that record looked unsurpassable, Australia's beefy opener, also another left hander Australia's Matthew Hayden went passed that mark against Zimbabwe. Stung to the quick, the majestic Lara did not allow Hayden to hang on to that record and once again made the individual batting record all his own by blasting 400 not out against England. That record remains to date and will not easily be surpassed again.