Antigua has long since boasted of its 365 beaches but a quarter of a century ago it was briefly the island of 375 runs. In the 1990s it used to be the last staging post for weary and battered English cricketers before they could return home to lick their wounds and contemplate shuffling on to the front foot once more against gentle English seamers in early May.
However, when England started the fifth and final Test of their 1994 tour they had at least been bolstered by their astonishing 208-run victory in Barbados. This win was all the more staggering since they had been bundled out for 46 in Trinidad in the previous Test. It is unlikely that Mark Ramprakash, England’s batting coach, has forgotten that experience. Indeed in the wake of last week’s 77 all out he might draw on that memory to remind his batsmen how quickly it is possible to atone for a batting collapse.
Written by Vic Marks
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jan/29/england-antigua-brian-lara-375-commentary-box-cricket-the-spin under the title “The Spin | Three minutes from history: my commentary box view of Lara’s 375”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
