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Lara: The England Chronicles
The England Chronicles is Brian Lara in his own voice, unfiltered and unrestrained.
The true untouchables of sport possess a kind of mystery, and Lara – thrillseeker, record holder, genius – stands as perhaps cricket’s deepest enigma, at once a beautifully free strokemaker whose creativity captured an era, and an often tortured presence at the heart of a faltering West Indies side as the great teams of the past faded from view.
He saved his best work for England. His two world-record Test innings both came against them, ten years apart. His otherworldly 501*, the highest score in cricket history, took place in Birmingham. Even his final game for the West Indies came against England.
He understood what was at stake, what he stood for. Lara saw himself as a torchbearer for generations of revolutionary cricketers from the Caribbean stretching back through the ages, their deeds reilluminated with flashes of his own. It was against this backdrop that Lara produced some of the most extraordinary batting ever seen on the cricket field.
“I could always feel those moments in my bones,” he writes. “When our prowess on the cricket field was used to help in the fight for independence from our colonial masters.”
Thirty years since his first world record, and twenty since he reclaimed it with Test cricket’s only quadruple century, Lara is ready to tell his own the incomparable highs and harrowing lows of a life lived on the edge.
The true untouchables of sport possess a kind of mystery, and Lara – thrillseeker, record holder, genius – stands as perhaps cricket’s deepest enigma, at once a beautifully free strokemaker whose creativity captured an era, and an often tortured presence at the heart of a faltering West Indies side as the great teams of the past faded from view.
He saved his best work for England. His two world-record Test innings both came against them, ten years apart. His otherworldly 501*, the highest score in cricket history, took place in Birmingham. Even his final game for the West Indies came against England.
He understood what was at stake, what he stood for. Lara saw himself as a torchbearer for generations of revolutionary cricketers from the Caribbean stretching back through the ages, their deeds reilluminated with flashes of his own. It was against this backdrop that Lara produced some of the most extraordinary batting ever seen on the cricket field.
“I could always feel those moments in my bones,” he writes. “When our prowess on the cricket field was used to help in the fight for independence from our colonial masters.”
Thirty years since his first world record, and twenty since he reclaimed it with Test cricket’s only quadruple century, Lara is ready to tell his own the incomparable highs and harrowing lows of a life lived on the edge.
- GenresSports
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 2, 2024
14 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Brian Lara
11 books3 followersThe Honourable Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer. He is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing records, including the record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, with 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994, which is the only quintuple hundred in first-class cricket history. Lara also holds the record for the highest individual score in a Test innings after scoring 400 not out against England at Antigua in 2004. He is the only batsman to have ever scored a century, a double century, a triple century, a quadruple century and a quintuple century in first class games over the course of a senior career.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 9, 2024
Well written. Exciting. Good pace. The ending was surprising. I loved the setting of meetings and the mood, people’s reactions. It’s the first in a series. I’m guessing Australia is next. So you only get part of the picture. You won’t know his impression of Shane Warne or experiences in post Apartheid South Africa. The book just jumps between the English tours so years pass between a chapter ending and another beginning.
But that makes it exciting in a way and something to look forward after you read the book.
But that makes it exciting in a way and something to look forward after you read the book.
September 24, 2024
An interesting and detailed look at the career of a legend against England and in county cricket.
August 31, 2024
Relatable and real
The prince of cricket tells it as it is. The good, bad and ugly of his illustrious career. Simple, to the point ...makes you feel like you're on the pitch with him facing those yorkers.
The prince of cricket tells it as it is. The good, bad and ugly of his illustrious career. Simple, to the point ...makes you feel like you're on the pitch with him facing those yorkers.
February 12, 2025
The great Brian Lara
From humble beginning, a showcase of talent, love, luck hard work and how it shaped a leader at a time of profound changes in the sport of cricket.
From humble beginning, a showcase of talent, love, luck hard work and how it shaped a leader at a time of profound changes in the sport of cricket.
August 1, 2024
The book provides insights into the situation and how Lara handled all the ups and downs in his career. He has been very open about some of the fellow players. Its always interesting to know how these born geniuses work.
September 3, 2025
A worthy book to honour my favourite cricketer… Except that its focus is Windies v England only. The rest is barely touched upon for context here and there, and the promise of a second and possibly third book echoes repeatedly across the pages. So – though this is compelling throughout, frequently capturing Lara’s magic and genius, and it genuinely feels like his personality is coming off the page – the story is far from complete. We’ll only know how good a biography it is in due course. (I’m hoping he delves into what it’s really like to face McGrath and Warne and co while the rest of his side is falling apart, and occasionally pulling off a miraculous win – there’d better be chapters on the Australian visit in 1999…)
In the main, this volume is poignant and ultimately somewhat tragic – to be expected, then. This was the bit that stuck with me: “In the minds of some, I kept the West Indies afloat. Not as a captain or as part of a great team, but through the consolation of individual achievements. You might call that a blessing and a curse.”
In the back, his stats are listed. Reflecting the quote above was the list of Lara’s Test centuries: Of his first 12, only one came in a loss (against England), with five wins; of his subsequent 22, only three came in wins (against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Pakistan), with 13 losses.
But what a player.
In the main, this volume is poignant and ultimately somewhat tragic – to be expected, then. This was the bit that stuck with me: “In the minds of some, I kept the West Indies afloat. Not as a captain or as part of a great team, but through the consolation of individual achievements. You might call that a blessing and a curse.”
In the back, his stats are listed. Reflecting the quote above was the list of Lara’s Test centuries: Of his first 12, only one came in a loss (against England), with five wins; of his subsequent 22, only three came in wins (against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Pakistan), with 13 losses.
But what a player.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews