Brian Lara produced a masterclass in how to face Australia’s pace attack as the 54-year-old wound back the clock in a brilliant net session designed to emulate the fast-bowling trio.
A year after winding back the clock in a net session against Rashid Khan, Lara faced a bowling machine set to the styles and pace of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc to reveal his approach to taking on arguably the best attack in the world.
“Brain Lara last year you dealt with Rashid Khan and he has not been seen in Adelaide since,” Michael Vaughan joked on Fox Cricket.
Watch Australia v West Indies on Kayo Sports. Every Test, ODI and T20I Live with no ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
Marsh outsmarted by Windies tactics | 01:06
“This year we wanted to go that little bit further and we want you to explain how you would face the three quicks from this Australian side.”
“Oh my god, so you say last year Rashid Khan and you haven’t seen him since, well this year with Australia’s three quicks, you are not going to see Lara again,” Lara joked.
“But they are outstanding fast-bowlers, word class and all together in one attack will always cause problems for any batter.
“I would definitely be looking to pick up singles, put away the bad balls and sort of survive. Share the strike with my partner.
“They don’t all bowl half volleys, but they do come searching, especially Mitch Starc and I would be on my front foot to him a lot. The occasional short ball I will get under.”
Lara scored 11,953 runs from 131 Test matches at an average of 52.88, with 34 centuries and 48 half centuries and a world record score of 400 not out.
If anyone could succeed against Australia’s current pace attack it would be Lara and this is how he would do it.
JOSH HAZLEWOOD TO LARA
Lara revealed the first thing to get right before facing Hazlewood or any bowler is his batting mark and footwork to cover his stumps.
“First of all I will bat on my crease because my first movement is back and across,” Lara explained.
“I give myself a bit of room to get back and across. Steady head and my eyes are just around off-stump.
“Anything outside of that I can leave alone. And I am trying to play as much as possible in the feet.
“Back and across is my trigger movement. From there I can go back, forward or to the side.
“Some people like Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting went slightly forward. It is just a trigger to make my next step.”
Hazlewood’s accuracy makes him a nightmare for opposition bowlers, but Lara backed himself to cover the balls on the stumps and leave the ball that is wider, while punishing any bad balls.
“It depends on the surface I am playing on,” Lara said.
“If there is a bit of bounce I will back my hand eye co-ordination to leave the ball on a good length.
“But I need to get my eyes and head over the ball. That is important.
“The more the ball starts going away from me, the more I can leave it. So I am covering off-stump and I want to get my eyes over it.
“If it is leaving me I am not going to follow it. I am going to shoulder it. But I am looking to play at maximum fourth stump.
“The one coming back into me is the one I am actually playing for. The ones leaving me is not a problem. I’m actually looking for the one coming back and playing inside the line.”
Lara revealed he actually prefers to bat against attacking fields with plenty of players in catching positions.
“That’s actually beneficial to me because I am looking to pounce on anything bad,” Lara said.
“The more you have guys in catching areas, the more you have open spaces in front of me or in the deep, so I actually like aggressive fields.
“You do have to take one on the body every now and then.
“I’m realising he is getting the ball to swing back in a bit, so I’m looking to get off strike and get runs against somebody else. So I’m looking to tuck him around the corner for a single.”
AUS v WI: 1st Test, Day 1 Highlights | 08:22
PAT CUMMINS TO LARA
Lara believes Cummins is similar to Hazlewood in his line and length, but he allows for more scoring opportunities because he is looking for the ball to go across the left-hander towards the slips and pitches it further up.
“Josh Hazlewood is a lot more consistent back of a length and he is very patient, where as Pat Cummins, a world class bowler again, he is going to try to keep it back of a length and get some foot movement,” Lara explained.
“But he is also going to look for some carry through to the slips. I want to pounce on those balls he feels he can get me out with.
“I think for a batter a defensive shot is an easier shot to play. An attacking shot is the one you have to execute properly.
“I have got an attacking mind-frame so I am looking to pounce on anything bad. When it is a good ball I just get into that defensive mode.”
Always strong on his pads, Lara is comfortable with the ball coming back into him and is wary of chasing balls outside off-stump.
“My mark is leg stump over the wicket and off-stump around the wicket,” Lara said.
“I want to be able to cover my off-stump as much as possible. When the ball comes back in I can work it to leg.
“But I would hate to get bowled off-stump just leaving it alone, so I am covering my off-stump a lot more.”
In a stunning revelation Lara revealed he actually looked to predict what bowlers were going to bowl in a bid to combat the express pace from some bowling attacks.
“It is difficult facing pace, so what I do a little bit is premeditate,” Lara said.
“I premeditate what he is going to deliver. If he does not it doesn’t mean I am going to play a drive to a short ball. I’ll just adjust myself.
“But if I am reading the bowler and reading what he is coming with I am doing a bit of premeditating so if that happens at 90 miles an hour I am still getting into position quickly.
“I think it is a mental war. You can tell what a guy is going to do with a ball in his hand.
“If Brett Lee is bowling you know there is going to be a couple of short balls. So it is that mental battle and trying to understand and predict what he is thinking.”
MITCHELL STARC TO LARA
Lara revealed his trademark backlift was designed to give him momentum facing fast-bowlers and just came naturally to him.
“I really couldn’t tell when my bat lift came about, but I think I do it and it is more exaggerated with the fast-bowlers,” Lara said.
“I think it gave me momentum with the speed of the ball coming at me. Against spinners you wouldn’t see me flick the bat up in the air.
“It was a momentum thing and getting my hands ready for the pace of the bowlers coming up.”
Brad Haddin, who was working the ball machine zeroed in on Lara’s toes with some yorkers, which left the West Indies great unimpressed.
“Mitchell Starc does not in-swing the ball to left-handers,” Lara joked.
“You have got to get that ball swinging away from me. You have got to be careful I have toes to protect.
“Right now I am looking out for my toes. He is going to swing it about.
“But of all the Australian bowlers Mitchell Starc is the one I am going to score off because I know he loves to swing the ball.
“I’m literally on my front foot looking to pounce on anything loose.”
Lara backed himself to score more runs against Starc because he is a swing bowler who is looking to pitch the ball up more often than not.
“He can bowl that short ball and he will most likely have a bat-pad in,” Lara said.
“But that is going to be the surprise ball. He is not going to bowl me three or four short balls in the over.
“That is going to be my defensive delivery, so I am not going to be driving, flicking off the pads and then pulling.
“A guy like Starc 95 per cent of balls are looking for swing, so I will have more drives and that surprise short ball I am looking to get out of the way.”
“He’s done it again the kid” Green GONE | 00:38
IDOLS GROWING UP
Lara looked up to plenty of batters as a youngster, but one Australian star was a massive influence on him and his batting style growing up.
“I had quite a few idols growing up,” Lara said.
“As a young cricketer you tend to have quite a few and I took something from every single one.
“One Australian I loved was Allan Border. Simply for the fact that when he played against the West Indies they were the best team in the world and any batter who could stand up against them I fell in love with.
“Border was also a similar height and left-handed, so he was one of my favourites.”
FASTEST BOWLER HE EVER FACED
Lara faced some of the fastest bowlers in the history of cricket during his career, but none were faster than an Australian spearhead.
“The fastest bowler I ever faced was Brett Lee and it was a spell in my home country of Trinidad,” Lara said.
“I was on my way to score my first hundred of the series and let me tell you something my non-striker partner Ramnaresh Sarwan refused to come down to the striker’s end.
“That was maybe the fastest spell I have ever faced in cricket.”
Discussion about this post