Lauding Lara at Lord's

Following the announcement yesterday that Brian Lara will retire from international cricket, Charlie Randall informs us of an exhibition to be held at Lord's, in May, of the great batsman.

The MCC say the exhibition has been organised with input from Lara himself and will feature many cricketing artefacts and photographs from the Trinidadian’s astonishing career. On loan from Lara will be several bats used in historic innings, including the left-hander’s 501 for Warwickshire in 1994, the world record score in first class cricket, and the 400 against England in Antigua, the Test record score.

In addition, there are balls, stumps and clothing from other significant matches on view -- and the jacket given to him by Nelson Mandela, the BBC overseas sports personality of the year award, as well as family photos from his personal collection. To complete the exhibition will be the acclaimed MCC-commissioned portrait of Lara by Justin Mortimer.