The truly great batsmen come few and far between. So few, that even with its magnificent tradition, West Indies cricket can count on the fingers those among its fold that have been so acclaimed. To be a great batsman requires, as prerequisites, great skill and the physical and mental durability to trigger high productivity over a prolonged period.

A sense of occasion and the matching mental strength to facilitate outstanding feats when most needed, against the sternest opposition, in the toughest conditions, are very much in order. Inevitably, the batting greats play with an ease and facility that sometimes approach the magical.

It is to the credit of the Caribbean region and our way of life that dating back to George Headley in the 1930s, our top exponents of the wonderful art of batting encased all the above qualities and more. Crucially, they were never boring. They entertained. None more so than Mr Brian Lara, to whom we must now say good-bye as a player.

His time has been arguably the most difficult and traumatic in the long history of West Indies cricket. Not since Headley has a West Indies batsman carried so heavy a burden for so long. None before Mr Lara has had to deal with the overwhelming pain and frustration of persistent team failure that, with the odd exception, has been the story of West Indies cricket these past 10 years. None before Mr Lara - in West Indies cricket - has had to endure the probing, sometimes cruel media scrutiny that is the lot of the great sports personalities of our age.

Yet his spirit, his will to entertain and to be his own man, no matter what, never dulled. Such has been his mental strength, fortitude and skill, he not only survived, he thrived as an individual. So that as he leaves the scene - at age 38 come May 2 - even his harshest critics concede that he remains the best batsman in the Caribbean and among the best in the world.

It's easy to take a guess at Mr Lara's greatest regret as a cricketer. As a batsman and as a captain in three stints, he failed to lift the West Indies from the doldrums. But those who persist in placing the blame squarely on his shoulders are clueless.

He had his faults. Like so many with the touch of genius, Mr Lara was no man manager. His leadership was at times whimsical and fanciful. Off the field he was not always as disciplined or as exemplary as he should have been.
He was not perfect. Who is? Let him that is without sin cast the first stone.

As a batsman he was not bettered in his time. And possibly only the Indian, Mr Sachin Tendulkar, can claim to be his equal.
His figures alone tell a large part of the story. In 131 Tests dating back to his debut in 1990, Mr Lara scored a world record 11,953 runs with 34 centuries inclusive of nine scores over 200. He leaves the scene with the impressive batting average of 52.85. Having broken Sir Garfield Sobers' long-standing Test match record with his 375 in 1994 against England at the Antigua Recreation Ground, he returned 10 years later to reclaim the record with 400 not out against the same country at the same ground.

When he leaves the field in West Indies colours for the last time today, Mr Lara will have played 299 One Day Internationals, having already scored 10,387 runs, with today's tally to be added.
The figures are fantastic, but they do not tell the whole story.

They do not capture the high, extravagant back lift and flowing follow through that captivated audiences and left bowlers beaten and disheartened. They do not capture the dancing, twinkle-toed approach to batting that made him the bane of spin bowlers, not least the living legends Messrs Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Nor do the figures tell the story of the iron will that in 1999 propelled Mr Lara to two of the greatest innings the world has ever seen as the struggling Windies, against all odds, drew 2-2 with mighty Australia.

Mr Lara has said he wants to be remembered as "someone who tried to entertain". He will be remembered for that and much, much more. At the bleakest period ever in West Indies cricket, he was by far the brightest and most enduring light.

Executive Class

Gardens with Gravel

Death to the Mullet!