World record holder for both test (400 not out) and first class cricket (501 not out), Brian Charles Lara, yesterday announced his retirement from International Cricket, after his side's match against Bangladesh, in Barbados, April 19, 2007.
The West Indies final super 8 match against England will be Lara's last in the Caribbean team's colours.
Lara a Trinidadian by birth, had initially made his stance that after the World Cup he will not play one-day Internationals anymore, in order to prolong his test career, but, to the surprise of many, including journalists, Lara calls it quits in both versions of the game.
This decision came on the heels of a dismal World Cup campaign by his side, for which he his captain. He was also ridicule and criticised by the media and the Caribbean people about his leadership during the ICC Cricket World Cup. The West Indies who have one match left to play is officially out of the World Cup.
Profile on Brian Lara:
Brian Charles Lara (born May 2, 1969) (nicknamed "The Prince of Port-of-Spain" or simply "The Prince") is a record-breaking West Indian cricketer who is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen ever. Lara is the current captain of the West Indies team and has topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds two of the most prestigious World Records for batting in Tests: highest individual innings and the all-time leading run scorer. He also holds the record for the highest individual score in first class cricket, with a total of 501* for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994.