Australia 'A' succumbs in next chapter of the life of Brian

Brilliant West Indian batsman Brian Lara came to the Bellerive Oval in Hobart today battered and bruised and he left it in similar condition. But surely not feeling nearly as crippled as an Australia 'A' attack that met him at close to the height of his powers on the third day of the teams' match.

Records, previous poor form on tour and manifest discomfort were all swept aside as the masterful left hander gave a crowd of 988 a wonderful reminder of innings and seasons of old. With only two fully fit limbs no less, he conjured a sparkling double century and featured in an astonishing, record-breaking stand for the sixth West Indian wicket. It all made recent losing encounters with nemesis Glenn McGrath - in the short term at least - seem a distant memory.

Under the duress generated by a hamstring injury that has afflicted him persistently for five months, Lara (231) had been forced as low as number seven in the batting order before he began his masterpiece late yesterday. At different times in an innings which brought him the fourth-highest score in a prolific first-class career, he appeared so beset that he had barely been capable of breaking into anything more than a trot. To make his injury woes even more acute, he then strained the infraspinatus muscle in his left shoulder during the early part of today's post-lunch session as well. His need to flex it and to receive treatment disrupted play on at least four occasions through the first forty-five minutes after the interval.

If it is possible for a batsman to play this well when so incapacitated, then heaven help any attack which is forced to spar with him on a similarly placid pitch when he is fully fit. By any stretch of the imagination, this was a remarkable exhibition of attacking, contemptuous batting. Through 342 minutes, he slammed forty boundaries, two sixes and a five and played with a wondrous level of skill.

Before he was finally dismissed as he top edged a cut at part-time off spinner Brad Hodge (who went on to claim a first-class career best of 4/17) in its last over, Lara cracked ninety-six runs from his flashing blade in the middle session alone. His fortieth first-class century was phenomenal; it was murderous.

As if the power of his three boundaries in the day's opening over had not been sufficient in themselves to offer a hint of what was to come, then the tone of Lara's batting was certainly underlined when he crashed six boundaries in succession off the bowling of paceman Andy Bichel (2/148) in the second over after the lunch break. The first was flayed through cover; the second superbly driven through mid on; the third pulled imperiously over square leg; the fourth was smashed high and hard over mid off; the fifth, off a top edge as he tried to pull again, flew over wicketkeeper Brad Haddin's head; and the sixth was powered along the ground through mid wicket.

He survived one strong lbw appeal from the bowling of left arm spinner Brad Oldroyd (0/75) at 193 and appeared to be dropped low to the ground by Simon Katich at square leg off the same bowler with his tally at 216. Otherwise, he was rarely in bother. It was a measure of his command that he slammed twelve boundaries as he raced from the 100 to the 150 mark and that he raised his second century from as few as eighty-two deliveries.

That he topped it off by figuring in a 365 run partnership with Ridley Jacobs (131) that made theirs the most productive stand for the sixth wicket in the history of first-class matches in Australia (surpassing Don Bradman and Jack Fingleton's compilation of 346 for Australia against England in the 1936-37 season) only applied icing to the cake.

"He's a class player and he was always due for runs," said opposing captain, Damien Martyn.

"It was (a) great (innings). He's one of those batsmen who's very good to watch if you're not the fielding captain! He's fantastic once he gets going."

"His running between the wickets ... well, sometimes he was normal, sometimes he was slow. There's definitely something wrong. But it didn't seem to worry his batting," he added when pressed about whether it was possible to assess from up-close the extent of the champion batsman's injury problems.

For his part, Jacobs also played aggressively, albeit not nearly as dominantly. His preoccupation was to seize upon anything short, and he unleashed a succession of forcefully struck cut, pull and hook strokes. To an extent, though, it was almost cruel that he played such a fine innings yet was relegated to playing a very clear second fiddle to his teammate.

For the record, the West Indians were dismissed on the stroke of stumps for a total of 492 - giving the tourists a first innings lead of fifty-three and, needless to say, easily their highest score in an innings to this stage of their visit. But this was a day on which the fate of the match itself was swept aside, lost even, in the wake of a breathtaking individual performance. What that individual made of it all and how he felt is anybody's guess in the wake of his refusal - not for the first time on this tour - to speak to the media after play. Cricket has an inimitable way, at times, of producing days like these.