South Africa captain who sacrificed chance to beat Brian Lara's iconic Test record reveals what the West Indies great told him after bizarre declaration
Mulder opted to bring an end to his innings 33 runs shy of Lara's landmark as his side posted 626 for five against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.
His surprising decision not to continue was immediately vindicated as Codi Yusuf had Takudzwanashe Kaitano caught behind off the first ball of the innings. Zimbabwe were all out for 170, with Mulder taking two for 20 in his six-over spell.
Mulder's declaration left West Indies great Lara as the only quadruple centurion in a Test innings, against England in Antigua in 2004, but he insisted he had no regrets.
His side went onto win the game comfortably, with Zimbabwe bowled out for 170 and then 220, losing by a mammoth innings and 236 runs.
Now, though, Mulder has revealed he chatted to Lara after the game - and was told by the man himself that he should have gone onto surpass his record.
'I've chatted a little bit to Brian Lara,' Mulder said. 'He said to me I'm creating my own legacy and I should have gone for it.
'He said records are there to be broken and he wishes if I'm ever in that position again I go and score more than what he had.
'It's super special and not something I would have dreamt of. That was an interesting point of view from his side, but I still believe I did the right thing and respecting the game is the most important part for me.'
Mulder had initially claimed that the record should have been held by someone like Lara rather than himself.
He said: 'First thing's first, we had enough to bowl.
'Brian Lara is a legend. He got 400 or 401 or something against England and for someone to keep that record, it is special.
'I spoke to Shuks (head coach Shukri Conrad) - and spoke about letting the legends keep (that record). Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be.'
He added: 'To be honest, I have never even dreamt of getting a double hundred, let alone a triple hundred, (but) most importantly, it has put the team in a good position to win this Test.'
Lara also made 375 against England in Antigua a decade before his 2004 feat. That mark was beaten by Matthew Hayden's 380 for Australia against Zimbabwe in 2003, only for Lara to reclaim top spot six months later.
Mahela Jayawardene made 374 for Sri Lanka against the Proteas in 2006, with Mulder passing Sir Garry Sobers' 365 not out for the West Indies against Pakistan in 1958 for fifth place on the all-time list.
His innings was a South African record, comfortably surpassing Hashim Amla's unbeaten 311 against England in 2012 which was their only previous triple century.
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