Lara: A tale of two innings

Lara has had a roller-coaster of a career

The career ups and downs of West Indies' cricket icon Brian Lara.

2 May 1969: Born Santa Cruz Trinidad. Youngest of seven brothers in family of 11.

1991 : Tours England with West Indies as 21-year-old, but cannot break into Test side

1993 : The breakthrough - Lara's first Test century is a sublime 277 against Australia in Sydney

18 April 1994 : Achieves legendary status with world record 375 against England in Antigua. Given plot of land by Trinidad government on which he builds dream home.

Lara first Test century: 275

3 June 1994 : Becomes first player to score seven centuries in eight first-class innings for Warwickshire.

6 June 1994: Records highest ever first class score of 501 not out against Durham.

For all Warwickshire's success that season - winning the Championship, the Benson & Hedges Cup and the Sunday League, and being runners-up in the NatWest Trophy - Lara was an unpopular member of the dressing-room.

One photograph of him talking on a mobile phone while in the field summed it up.

1995 : Can't help himself scoring runs against England - 765 Test runs at an average of 85, including three centuries - but threatens to walk out on team-mates mid-tour, saying: "Cricket has ruined my life". He is talked around.

World record number one: 375 against England

1998/1999 : Captains West Indies to a 3-1 series win against England at home, but suffers the indignity of 5-0 whitewash on South Africa tour later that year.

It is reported by South African journalists that the mystery of Jimmy Adams's cut hand suffered on the aeroplane from England could be explained by Adams attempting to intervene in a heated argument between Lara and a West Indies team-mate.

The official line was that Adams had cut his hand on a bread knife.

March 1999 : Single-handedly wins two Test matches against Australia, helping to draw the series.

In all, scores three centuries in as many Tests, including 213 in Jamaica, and 153 not out, chasing 308, in Barbados - one of the greatest innings in Test history.

October 1999: Smashes second-fastest one-day international hundred, off 45 balls, against Bangladesh in Dhaka.

World record number two: Cricket history

1999/2000 : Leads West Indies to 2-0 Test-series defeat in New Zealand.

2000 : Resigns the captaincy, citing "moderate success and devastating failure that has engulfed West Indies cricket".

Doubts exist over his future when he makes himself unavailable for selection against Zimbabwe and Pakistan, saying that he would "seek the assistant of appropriate professionals to rebuild all facets of my game".

His mother's serious illness is also an issue.

The appropriate professional turns out to be a New Jersey psychiatrist used to dealing with sports personalities and public figures.

His Test record at the time was 5,573 runs from 65 Tests at an average of 51, with 13 hundreds.

May 2000 : After initial reports in the Caribbean suggest that Lara would not be available for the tour of England, he is included in party after all.

He later denies a report in the Caribbean Guardian that he has been offered $120,000 - three times the standard salary - by his home board to make the trip.

June 2000 : Scores two runs in his first three first-class innings of the tour.