On this day 16 years ago, former West Indian captain Brian Charles Lara broke the record for the highest individual score in Test cricket, becoming the first ever player to reach 400 in international cricket.
The West Indies faced England in St John’s in the fourth Test match of the 2004 series and having won the toss, Lara opted his team to bat first.
Lara and his fellow batters would go on to put England to the sword in the following two days, posting a mammoth total of 751-5 before declaring as Lara notched up 400 not out.
The left-hander accounted for 43 fours and four sixes, while his milestone came off 582 deliveries, which saw him out in the middle for a total of 778 minutes.
England would then be dismissed for only 285 in their first innings before the hosts enforced the follow-on.
Michael Vaughn’s men, however, offered greater resistance in their second innings to go to 422-5 as the Test match came to an end on the fifth day with the match ending in an expected draw.
ON THIS DAY…
April 1️⃣2️⃣, 2004
4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ ??????@brianlara hits a world-record Test score against England at St John’s – 10 years after doing it for the first time! ?️???????? pic.twitter.com/sAG1hFvUT9
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) April 12, 2020
