With more than 10000 runs, Brian Lara was the first to reach the coveted landmark for his team in ODIs. For a team that was an elite squad for a few decades, it was a brilliant feat by the stylish southpaw. Later, till now, only Chris Gayle managed to achieve the milestone from the squad. Brian Lara is one of the best batters that the game has seen. He was immovable against the strongest of attacks and displayed skills across conditions. As a captain, too, Lara enjoyed some good times. It was in 1990 against Pakistan in Karachi that Lara made his ODI debut. Here, we take a look at West Indies’ playing XI when Brian Lara made his ODI Debut.
Openers: Desmond Haynes (C) and Carlisle Best
Desmond Haynes and C Best were the openers in West Indies’ playing XI when Brian Lara made his ODI Debut. The skipper was in the final few overs of his career. He was a stalwart for West Indies and made 67 runs in this particular encounter. Best, who played 24 ODIs for West Indies, did not trouble the scorers in this match.
Middle-Order: R Richardson, G Logie, Brian Lara and Jeff Dujon (WK)
Richardson played 224 ODIs for West Indies to score more than 6000 runs. For a long time, he occupied the No.3 spot for the squad. Logie, too, played quite a few games for West Indies. However, he was able to just score one hundred in more than 100 encounters. Hence, he did not enjoy a long career. Between 1980 and 1990, Jeff Dujon kept wickets for West Indies often. He played a total of 169 games for the team.
All-Rounders: Carl Hooper
Carl Hooper was the all-rounder in West Indies’ playing XI when Brian Lara made his ODI Debut. In 227 games, Hooper scored 5761 runs and also collected 193 wickets. He was a multi-utility player for West Indies for a very long time. As usual, he was the sole spinner in this bowling attack.
Bowlers: Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh
As usual, it was a stunning pace attack for the West Indies squad. Back then, there were hardly any competitors for the fiery pace attack of West Indies. In this game, too, they fielded one of their strongest pace attacks. They restricted Pakistan to 211 runs but the batters could not chase it down.
