The Prince who always finished second..........

Tendulkar or Lara??The proverbial debate. The one that never ended. Because there never was a debate.Lara himself admitted that "Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal"
But Brian Lara at work was flamboyance. Flair personified. The Prince of Trinidad, as he was known, scripted many a beautiful poetries on a 22 yard strip.Ballads.And Sonnets.And Music.
Yes. This was Lara. Batsmanship was an art and he was the artist.For more than a decade, Brian Lara fought alone.Watched helplessly as his team sunk into depths of despair. And he scripted ballads. And more than once, he single handedly steered his team to victory in a way only Brian Lara can. Sometimes he was the fighting captain, trying desperately to save the Titanic. And sometimes, he failed miserably. it was a cruel twist of fate that Brian Lara crossed milestones, set benchmarks. but rarely attained success. Because cricket required 11 players, not a Brian Lara. The lone ranger for a hopeless team. He never had the comfort of a Ganguly or a Dravid in the team.
He was the conscience of the West Indies cricket when in turmoil. He was mercurial. A flawed genius. But a genius nonetheless.