Lara finally returns to the top By Martin Gough
Guyana Chronicle
July 2, 2003

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SOME believed he would never make it, but Brian Lara has finally returned to the top of Test cricket as its highest-rated batsman.

The PriceWaterhouseCoopers ratings are often fickle, Matthew Hayden's recent battle with Michael Vaughan showing the importance of recent games.

But Lara's return to the top of the pile comes after a purple patch of form bettered only by that in 1994, when he followed a Test record 375 against England with a new first-class mark 501 not out.

A side that was still rebuilding struggled to match Steve Waugh's all-conquering Australians but Lara, back as captain after replacing Carl Hooper, still starred.

The regal left-hander followed centuries in the first two Tests of the series with a pair of half-centuries in the Caribbean side's consolation fourth Test victory in St John's.

The toughest of rivals have often brought out the best in the Trinidadian.

His highest rating under the PwC system came after a heroic sequence of 213, eight, 153 not out and 100 tied the home side series with Australia four years ago.

But since then he has struggled on and off the pitch to regain the plateau of excellence expected by his admirers.

Perhaps the lowest ebb was early in 2000, when he was replaced as captain by Jimmy Adams and took a sabbatical from international cricket, with reports he was seeing a New York psychiatrist.

A run of sub-par form in the following year - including a tour of England when he failed to score a century - saw him finally drop out of the top 10.

Sir Garfield Sobers' reportedly suggestion of a slight change in his backlift brought instant returns in Sri Lanka two years ago.

Scores of 221 and 130 in the third Test in Colombo still brought a 10-wicket loss as his series total of 688 runs was a record 42% of the team's aggregate.

But an on-field collision during the one-day series saw him dislocate an elbow, and as he struggled to recover form, a mystery illness knocked him out for the rest of the year.

The source of his regeneration perhaps came during his time-out, as the team's young batsmen were forced to fill the breach on tour in the subcontinent.

Ramnaresh Sarwan - now Lara's vice-captain - and Chris Gayle both found new maturity, as Lara acknowledged when he returned to form with a century in the opening match of the World Cup.

The Prince of Port of Spain is used to starring without support, but his spur is far greater when it comes from his team-mates.

"The guys played well without me in India and Bangladesh and they're full of confidence," he said after setting the side up for a surprise win over South Africa.

"I told myself that I had to push and shove myself to get to the front of this young, talented side."

Lara's return to his invincible best will not be proved complete unless he can deal with some tough tests in the next year, touring South Africa before West Indies play host to England.

But as they whisper about the possibility of a first-ever series victory in the Caribbean, Nasser Hussain's men will be keeping an eye on the form of their nemesis. (BBC Sport).
The top 10 lists are:

Tests:

Batting: Brian Lara (West Indies), Matthew Hayden (Australia), Ricky Ponting (Australia), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Michael Vaughan (England), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Adam Gilchrist (Australia), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Rahul Dravid (India), Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa),

Bowling: Shaun Pollock (South Africa), Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka), Glenn McGrath (Australia), Harbhajan Singh (India), Jason Gillespie (Australia), Andrew Caddick (England), Makhaya Ntini (South Africa), Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan), Anil Kumble (India), Jacques Kallis (South Africa).

ODIs:

Batting: Tendulkar, Ponting, Gibbs, Lara, Gilchrist, Chris Gayle (West Indies), Marcus Trescothick (England), Michael Bevan (Australia), Hayden, Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies).

Bowling: Pollock, Muralitharan, McGrath, Ntini, Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka), Brett Lee (Australia), Shane Bond (New Zealand), Gillespie, Zaheer Khan (India), Harbhajan.

TEST TABLE..
ICC Test Championship Table

[ as at 29 June 2003 ]

Team Rating

1 Australia 129

2 South Africa 115

3 New Zealand 103

4 England 98

5 Sri Lanka 97

6 India 91

7 Pakistan 91

8 West Indies 82

9 Zimbabwe 58

10 Bangladesh 4

Developed by David Kendix

Archive: ICC Test Championship

Background Information and Ratings Formula

Future Series To Be Completed:

Australia v Bangladesh, 2 Tests, July 2003

Pakistan v Bangladesh, 3 Tests, August-September 2003

England v South Africa, 5 Tests, July-September 2003

India v New Zealand, 2 Tests, October 2003

Australia v Zimbabwe, 2 Tests, October 2003

Pakistan v South Africa, 3 Tests, October 2003

Bangladesh v England, 2 Tests, October-November 2003

Zimbabwe v West Indies, 2 Tests, November 2003

Sri Lanka v England, 3 Tests, December 2003

Australia v India, 4 Tests, December 2003-January 2004

South Africa v West Indies, 4 Tests, December 2003-January 2004

West Indies v England, 4 Tests, March-April 2004

Note: the above list is not necessarily complete - it will be updated as new series schedules are announced publicly. (Wisden Cricinfo).