Lara still remembers the day he met Clarke

Legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara has congratulated Australia Test captain Michael Clarke for his outstanding performance with the bat throughout the three-Test series against South Africa, stating that he has now become a run-scoring machine.

Lara also noted that it took special performances like Clarke’s back-to-back double hundreds to prove that he is indeed one of the best batsmen in the world currently.

Reminiscing about the first time he met Clarke, Lara remembered how the Australian captain has asked him for a ride into the town centre of Guyana after spotting him get off the plane.

“We were in Guyana many, many years ago and I was a day late and I got off at the airport and this guy asked if I could take him into the city,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Lara as saying. “I asked him if he was a reporter. It was Michael Clarke. I’m not sure who he was replacing on that tour but somebody got injured, we became very, very good friends since then and it’s lovely to see the way that he has gone on.”

Lara stated that it was wonderful to see how far Clarke had come in his career since meeting him as a young rookie in Guyana and hoped that he would continue having a lot of success in the years ahead.

“He commanded a place on the Australian team very early and now as captain is leading his team very well,” Lara added. “It’s wonderful, I think, also the fact that as captain it also enhanced his game.

“That is something that is always an issue – if a guy is going to be given that job, how is he going to handle it, is it going to affect his batting? That seems to be out of the way, obviously his scoring – the double centuries and the triple century – is awesome. Also his focus on winning as well, as the captain, is something that you very much have to very much appreciate it. Putting yourself aside to ensure the team is successful.”