Happy Birthday: Brian Lara, David Beckham, Johan Botha

Sport360 staff 10:15 02/05/2016
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  • The Caribbean maestro was without doubt one of the finest batsmen to have played the game of cricket.

    Lara, who turns 47, was an exceptional left-handed batsman and even though his stint as West Indies captain didn’t go as well as hoped, his batting remained a class apart.

    Lara has scored some of the most significant knocks in the game – 375 and 400* against England in Tests and 501* in a county game, the highest scores in Tests and first-class cricket.

    He ended his career with 34 Test centuries from 131 games, amassing more than 11,000 runs.

    In 299 ODIs, he had an average of more than 40, scoring just over 10,000 runs. However, the West Indies’ struggles in the late 1990s and early 2000s meant he spent most of the time holding the batting together, unable to play with total freedom.

    1953: Jamaal Wilkes, retired American small forward who won four NBA championships (63).

    1975: David Beckham, decorated England footballer who won 19 major trophies in his 20-year career (41).

    1979: Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey left winger for the Washington Capitals (37).

    1982: Johan Botha, South African former off-spinner who played 123 international games for his country (34).

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