After completing the three-match series against Pakistan, the Australian team is locking horns in a two-match Test series. Australia is the all-time best in the cricket world. Currently, they are in a great form. Especially the trio, Hazelwood, Starc, and Cummins are ruling their bowling unit. The opponent batters face difficulties batting in front of them. While the first Test match between Australia and West Indies going on, West Indies legend Brian Lara showed how to bat against Australia’s destructive bowling trio.
Lara’s Masterclass:
The formidable trio of Hazlewood, Starc, and Cummins in Test cricket is hailed as one of the best. Brian Lara, the West Indies legend showcased his prowess against such top-tier fast bowling. In a special indoor nets session during day 2, emulating the Australian pacers, Lara, now part of the commentary team, demonstrated how he’d face their quality pace. Lara exhibited his enduring skill, effortlessly smashing cover drives even against deliveries approaching 90mph. A timeless masterclass from the cricket maestro, proving age is no match for class and expertise.
Lara’s Words:
After this masterclass, Brian Lara talked about this matter. He said, “ What I do a little bit of is premeditate,” Lara said when asked about how difficult it is to drive balls being bowled at such high speed. “So I would premeditate the next delivery, what I think he is going to deliver. If he doesn’t, it doesn’t mean that I am going to play a drive to a short ball. I’ll just adjust myself.”
Later the legend added, “But if I am reading the bowler, reading what he is coming with, I am doing a bit of premeditating. So if that half volley comes at 90 miles an hour, I am still getting into position quickly.”
To bat in front of these world-class bowlers it takes a lot of mental courage. On this matter, Lara said, “I think it’s a mental war, and you can tell what a guy’s going to do with the ball in his hand. If there’s a Brett Lee bowling, you know there’s going to be a couple of short balls. He’s going to come searching for gold. So I think it’s that mental battle and understanding and trying to predict what he’s thinking of, is important to me.”
Further, he added, “I find it very difficult to just play each ball in it’s merit. You will eventually do that, but I think when you’re playing against world-class bowlers, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, you tend to know what these guys are trying to do to set you up.”
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