Lara's Player Of The Year (16 June 1999)

16 June 1999

Lara's Player Of The Year

Tony Cozier

London: The West Indies gained some consolation for their World Cup failure when captain Brian Lara and manager Clive Lloyd received international honours on Monday night.

Lara was named the Pricewaterhouse Coopers International Cricketer Of The Year by the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), while Lloyd was honoured for his contribution to the game.

Lara received the award - given annually for "the most consistent performances in Test cricket over the past 12 months" at a ceremony at the Savoy Hotel in London.

He won the honour ahead of six other nominated players: captain Steve Waugh and fast bowler Glenn McGrath of Australia, all-rounder Jacques Kallis and fast bowler Allan Donald of South Africa and batsman Sachin Tendulkar of India.

Kallis was chosen Young Cricketer Of The Year.

Lara had an outstanding series against Australia in the Caribbean, in which he scored match-winning innings of 213 in Jamaica and 158 not out in Barbados and followed up with an even 100 in the final Test in Antigua.

The series was shared 2-2 and the subsequent limited-overs series was also shared, 3-3.

The Test series, generally rated one of the most thrilling in recent Test history, followed the West Indies' disastrous inaugural tour of South Africa where they were beaten in all five Tests and 6-1 in the One-Day Internationals.

"The year started badly in South Africa and we needed a strong team to come back to play against the best team in the world, Australia, and I thought we did pretty well to level the Tests and the One-Day series," Lara said at the ceremony.

Asked whether his last-day century in Barbados, which carried the West Indies to victory by one wicket and a lead in the series, was better even than his Test record 375 against England in 1995, Lara shifted the glory from himself to his team-mates.

"It was really special, but what was important was the partnerships - batting for a long time - first of all, with Jimmy Adams (adding 133), then having a 60-run partnership with Curtly Ambrose and finally seeing Courtney Walsh facing four balls at the end of the innings from Jason Gillespie," he said.

"When Courtney was passing me going to the crease he said: 'Don't tell me anything, I know exactly what I'm going to do.'"

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)