On This Day In 1994: Brian Lara's 501 Not Out In First-Class Cricket
On This Day In1994: Brian Lara scored an unbeaten 501 for Warwickshire against Durham, setting the highest first-class cricket score, surpassing Hanif Mohammad's 499.
On This Day In 1994: June 6, 1994, marks a special occasion in Brian Lara's illustrious career as the legendary West Indies left-hander recorded the highest score ever made in first-class cricket. The Prince of Trinidad achieved the unthinkable, amassing an unbeaten 501 during a County Championship match for Warwickshire against Durham in Edgbaston. On this day, Lara surpassed Pakistan's Hanif Mohammad in the list, overhauling the Pakistan giant's 499 made in Karachi against Bahawalpur in 1959.
The backstory to Lara's incredible feat makes for an interesting read as it was a matter of fate that the West Indies great happened to play for Warwickshire that summer in England.
If not for Indian seamer Manoj Prabhakar's injury, the flamboyant batter wouldn't have been able to fill the vacant overseas slot in the Warwickshire squad. Notably, Prabhakar was himself a replacement for the club's marquee South African recruit Allan Donald, who was on international duty.
Luckily, Warwickshire chairman MJK Smith was in the Caribbean for England's 1994 tour to the West Indies and he offered Lara a £40,000 deal for the coming season after watching him amass a world record 375 runs in a Test innings in Antigua, going past Sir Garry Sobers's 365 not out.
Lara backed the club's faith wonderfully, scoring six hundreds in seven County Championship games before producing his eight-hour marathon innings of 501* off 427 deliveries, including 62 fours and 10 maximums. The then 25-year-old plundered 2066 runs at an extraordinary average of 89.82 that season for Warwickshire.
Lara recorded the 500 milestone in the dying moments of the rain-marred first-class match in Edgbaston after being reminded by wicketkeeper-batter Keith Piper that the play could be called off soon on Day 4. Alerted by his partner, Lara reversed a trend of dot balls against part-timer John Morris with a drive for four that took him past the colossal 500 mark.
'I didn't realise we were in the last over until four balls had been bowled. Keith Piper came up (batting partner) to me and said there were only two deliveries left. Records are there to be broken, and I'm happy to be the one doing it. If the records I have set are broken, I hope I am the one doing it. It's hard to compare my Test 375 with 501 here. You just have to cherish both of them," Lara said after the game.
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June 06, 2025, 07:10 IST
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