Lara146;s farewell theme

The announcement that he was retiring may well be the defining moment of World Cup 2007

THE delivery was a perfect yorker. 8220;You have said you will continue to play Test cricket till you are 40. Does that decision still hold?8221; asked a journalist at the post-match press conference after West Indies had convincingly beaten Bangladesh. Brian Lara, the master, dispatched it over long off with ease, 8220;I will not take any more questions after this8230;I want everybody to know that on Saturday I8217;ll be playing my last international match. I8217;ve already spoken to the board and the players about this.8221;

Stunned journalists took a few seconds to react. Some thrust autograph books in front of cricket8217;s biggest legend of our generation as if this was the last occasion he would ever sign them. Others, still dazed, looked at each other with blank smiles. He obliged each of the autograph seekers with patience before walking out of the side door to the privacy of the dressing room. With one sentence, lasting no more than three seconds, a routine press conference had become the defining moment of Cricket World Cup 2007. It signalled the end of an era in international cricket.

In hindsight, there were enough indications that something was coming. Going strictly by the book, Lara should have come to the press briefing with Ramnaresh Sarwan in tow. Interestingly, they did enter together. But Lara went out and Imran Khan, the West Indies media manager, started the proceedings with Sarwan in the box seat. Sarwan, almost certain to lead West Indies in England next month, was all smiles every time a captaincy related question was asked. To his credit, however, he did not drop his guard.

Soon after Sarwan had finished, Lara walked in. The very first question was about his future and he brushed it aside, saying that the focus should be on that day8217;s game. But journalists being journalists, he was constantly bothered with questions on captaincy. For about 10 minutes, Lara presented a dead bat to all those viciously turning deliveries. He even tried to make out as if his entire concentration was on Saturday8217;s game. 8220;We8217;ve still got a job to do on Saturday8230;We still have a World Cup to finish.8221;

But with the conference drawing to a close and with the barrage of questions continuing, the guard finally dropped. Or rather Lara, always in charge, must have deliberately dropped his guard. In fact, each word that was uttered about his retirement was met with a kind of bewilderment I haven8217;t seen before. And soon after the conference had ended, mobiles came out in a hurry with reporters from every corner of the world calling their editors back home: 8220;The king has retired. Long live the king.8221;

The West Indies-England encounter, an inconsequential super eight encounter, had already assumed a billing equal to that of the final. And why not? It gave the entire Caribbean an opportunity to bid goodbye to its most controversial star. A genius who8217;s multiple flaws only added to his charm.