News about Brian Lara

NASSER HUSSAIN: I have seen some great sweepers of the ball in my time. I think back to left-handers such as Brian Lara, Graham Thorpe, Marcus Trescothick and Andy Flower. But Ben Duckett is right up there with the very best. For him, the sweep shot is like a forward defence. It is just so natural to him. He is short in height, which means he picks up length well, and he nails virtually every one of them. I can't think of one on day two that he top edged - and as a left hander you have to constantly cope with the rough outside your off stump. He has such a repertoire. If you think of someone like Matthew Hayden, another left-hander who was a great sweeper, he mainly had the hard slog sweep. But Duckett has the hard sweep, the dab sweep, the slog sweep, the reverse sweep behind square, the reverse sweep in front of square.

RICHARD GIBSON: Jacob Bethell has spent his life surrounded by ­impressive role models and his latest helped him through a ­statement second England appearance. Bethell, 20, who was born and grew up in ­Barbados, lists Sir ­Garfield Sobers as a family friend, and was once told 'you are better than I was when I was 11,' by Brian Lara. However, since being identified as the latest calculated gamble by the England selectors - as first revealed by Mail Sport - the Warwickshire all-rounder has been looking up to Liam ­Livingstone.

Joe Root's rich form against West Indies has coincided with a rise to number one in Test cricket's batting rankings. Former England captain Root struck 87 in the 10-wicket win at Edgbaston, an innings that took him beyond both Windies great Brian Lara's career tally of runs and the 12,000 mark in Tests and also above Kane Williamson at the top of the International Cricket Council's ratings. The 33-year-old has now reached the summit of Test batting on nine occasions stretching back to 2015 when his contributions in the middle were integral to England winning back the Ashes.

England were pegged back by a resurgent West Indies as the hosts ended day one on 38-3 after a fascinating opening day at Edgbaston. Ben Stokes' side had seized the advantage when bowling the tourists out for 282 on a friendly pitch. But two wickets in two balls, including those of openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, helped West Indies fight back and set up an intriguing second day.

England wrapped up a comprehensive victory over West Indies by an innings and 114 runs at Lord's on Friday as legendary seam bowler Jimmy Anderson bid farewell to Test cricket. Needing four wickets to get the job done ahead of day three, Anderson picked up his 704th and final Test wicket to get the ball rolling as Joshua Da Silva nicked behind to Jamie Smith. From then on, it was the Gus Atkinson show as he dismissed Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph and Jayden Seales to finish with 12 wickets in the match.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RICHARD GIBSON: When it comes to heavyweight batting, the diminutive genius that is Brian Lara is unified world champion, clutching the titles for highest Test and first-class scores like precious antiques. Even in the Bazball era, and a week after a Promethean effort saw Glamorgan fall at the line in a 593 chase at Cheltenham, the numbers appear otherworldly. Yet Lara expects neither to remain in an exclusive club of one when it comes to Test cricket's quadruple centurions nor the famous 501 made here for Warwickshire 30 years ago to last. Sat with his back to the Edgbaston turf where he flayed Durham's weary attack for eight hours in early June 1994, he explains to Mail Sport that the pace of the modern game is behind his rationale.

NASSER HUSSAIN: For all the good things that this England team has achieved in attracting viewers, they currently rank second in the World Test Championship table, and to me, the most important currency is still stands second place, and I suspect the results are still second in second place. All sports teams are judged on their records at the end of the season. How they end up at the end of a season or a series. How many runs you scored in cricket, as well as the wickets you took. Yes, you will eventually hear people discussing the game's style, and rightfully so, and Shane Warne, Ian Botham, and Brian Lara are among the people in the discussion.

As the fallout from Australia's humiliating loss to the West Indies, former Test stars Pat Cummins, his team, and each other, has fallen apart. Shamar Joseph (left with Pat Cummins and celebrating a wicket) engineered the famous Windies win by overcoming injury to take seven scalps.

After bowling his team to a thrilling eight-run victory over Australia at the Gabba, West Indies' new superstar Shamar Joseph has promised to devote Test cricket and increase the riches of T20. Despite being injured by a Mitchell Starc yorker on the third evening, the 24-year-old bowled 11.5 overs unchanged to take 7-68 to ensure a 1-1 draw and win the player-of-the-match and series awards.

On Sunday, Windies legend Hooper, 57, was at the Gabba as Shamar Joseph thrashed Australia to help his country win by eight runs over Pat Cummins' world champions. This is the first time the visitors have won in Australia in 27 years.

Following their loss in the first Test in Adelaide, former Australian fast bowler Hogg described the tourists as 'pathetic and hopeless.' In Brisbane, however, the Windies were anything but hopeless, with Shamar Joseph clinching a dramatic victory in away soil, the first in Australia in 27 years. A pumped-up Braithwaite received a note from Hogg after they had won.

BUMBLE AT THE TEST: England set the tourists a challenging challenge on the first day of a one-off Test match with Ireland. Ireland returned to the crease after England declared on 524 for four, thanks to England's fastest double-century from Ollie Pope and a 182 for Ben Duckett. Josh Tongue repaid the faith shown in him by Ben Stokes by taking three to leave the Irish on 97 for three, with James McCollum recovering injured.

INTERVIEW: Simon McIntyre has brought a Caribbean twist to the club's title challenge, which may culminate in a carnival at Twickenham. Since returning to Manchester, where he was born and raised after spending a decade at Wasps, the 32-year-old prop has become a great home-town asset. But McIntyre is also proud of his family's roots from the Far Side of the Atlantic. If Sale beat Saracens in the Premiership Final on Saturday, there will be a particularly tumultuous crowd among the northern hordes in the stands, in keeping with Trinidadian tradition. 'There's a lot of dancing in Trinidad,' McIntyre said. It's a huge thing.'

Sachin Tendulkar's 50th birthday has been commemorated with a set of gates named in his honor, marking the Indian legend's heroics at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Both Tendulkar and West Indies great Brian Lara will be named after them at the SCG on Monday, according to Cricket Australia. The gates, which were used to access the field of play, were unveiled to commemorate Tendulkar's 50th birthday and 30 years since Lara's innings of 277 at the venue.

The 24-year-old England star blasted the Kolkata Knight Riders' attempt at an unbeaten 100 off 55 balls at Eden Gardens, putting an end to his Sunrisers Hyderabad career that is well and truly behind him. Despite batting lower for both Yorkshire and England, Brook, who has been used as an opener by the Sunrisers, has scored in his first three appearances. In the final over Hyderabad's imposing 228 for four, the Yorkshireman set the tone in his fourth by racing to 31 off just 11 balls and made the most of an escape on 45 balls.

Brook was stopped in Florida on his way home from England's new Test series in New Zealand and was stunned by both the baseball players' work ethic and their physical prowess. Although Brook, who was supposed to become a 'global superstar' by England Test captain Ben Stokes after a dreamy first winter as an international cricketer, says his attempts to reach a home run were thwarted by a strong breeze, he left America eager to show that the change from baseball to Bazball was more than linguistic. 'The lads were stacked,' says Brook, an MLB ambassador.' They were huge, and they were all about the legs,' he said.'