IPL to Blame? Brian Lara makes a huge comment on the West Indies’ batting disaster
Former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara, on Tuesday, took a veiled swipe at the Indian Premier League (IPL) and other T-20 franchise leagues, blaming the tournament for the dismal bating performance of West Indies in the third Test match against Australia, where the home team was dismissed for just 27 runs – the second-lowest total in a Test innings in history was just one run more than New Zealands 26 all out against England in 1955. In the wake of the horrendous batting display, Lara, speaking on the cricket podcast ‘Stick To Cricket’, indirectly blamed the IPL and other T20 franchise leagues for the decline of West Indies cricket. He claimed that players tend to use the national team as a stage to garner attention from T-20 leagues, as opposed to the culture back in his days, when cricketers used to rise through the ranks by playing domestic cricket and county cricket before earning an international debut. Meanwhile, former England cricketer David Lyod has blamed the top three cricket-playing countries, India, Australia, and England. Lyod said, “The big three, they take all the money. They get the big broadcast deals. You need to have a more even distribution to allow West Indies, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka to participate in the deal.” Former West Indies captain Carl Hooper, speaking on ABC Cricket, Hooper said he thinks a few heads should roll for these decisions. “They have made some wholesale changes, massive changes, that I think were not needed. … To make wholesale changes and then get results like this, Cricket West Indies have got to hold up their hands and be held accountable.”
Wiaan Mulder reveals Brian Lara’s conversation after declaring on an unbeaten 367
Despite a blockbuster debut as South Africa Test captain, Wiaan Mulder completed a thumping victory against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo with perhaps as many questions and plaudits after declaring the innings while batting on a mammoth 367 not out in the first innings. Anticipation was building towards a potential world record-breaking moment post Lunch on Day 2 as Mulder stood only 34 runs away from surpassing Brian Lara’s unbeaten 400, still the only quadruple Test century, against England in 2004. Several former cricketers and experts lamented Mulder’s decision to declare the innings before the resumption of play, as South Africa eventually went on to complete a comfortable innings and 236-run victory within three days. The 27-year-old Mulder later revealed that Lara had told him he should have taken the chance to shoot for the summit. “Now that things have settled a little bit, I have chatted a little bit to Brian Lara…He said to me I’m creating my legacy, and I should have gone for it. He said records are there to be broken and he wishes that if I’m ever in that position again, I actually go and score more than what he had,” Mulder told SuperSport. Talking about his decision to declare on 367, Mulder had said that he had committed to it out of respect for Lara’s stature in the game. “Firstly, I thought we had enough and we needed to bowl. Secondly, Brian Lara is a legend. For someone of that stature to keep that record is deserved. If I get the chance to do it again, I’d do it exactly the same way,” Mulder had said in a post-match interaction.
