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Australian skipper Michael Clarke, widely considered to be one of the best players of spin in world cricket currently, has openly admitted to the West Indian legend Brian Lara‘s contribution in his growth as one of the better players of spin bowling.
It’s a common occurrence to find one or the other controversy pop out of Twitter conversations these days, but it’s also not very rare to find mutual admiration between sportspersons.
It all started on Twitter today when Michael Clarke posted a tweet about being home for a short stay, and Lara congratulated the Aussie skipper for the recent 5-0 whitewash in Ashes:
Lara then admired Clarke’s rise through the ranks and reminded him of their first meeting in Guyana in 2003:
Clarke and Lara met for the first time in 2003 when Australia was touring West Indies. Clarke had made his ODI debut in Adelaide earlier that year, but played his 2nd ODI only 4 months later in West Indies.
In Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, Clarke was looking for a lift into the town when he saw Lara and walked up to him.
“We were in Guyana many, many years ago and I was a day late and I got off at the airport and this guy asked if I could take him into the city,” Lara was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald in 2012.
“I asked him if he was a reporter. It was Michael Clarke. I’m not sure who he was replacing on that tour but somebody got injured.
“We became very, very good friends since then and it’s lovely to see the way that he has gone on,” Lara said.
Since then, the two have developed a very close friendship, and Clarke admitted he wished he could play spin like the Trinidadian legend, who demolished the spinners in his heydays with those late cuts almost off the wicketkeeper’s gloves.
Ready to laugh off the comparison, Lara swiftly acquired a humorous route:
Lara soon acknowledged Clarke’s brilliance against spin, and also advised him to watch the ball closely at the point of release:
The quick chat ended with well wishes from both sides, and Lara signing off with a mention of the exercise routine in front of him:
Despite the usual eagerness to compare greats across eras, or even contemporaries, it’s not lost on the followers of the game how much these great men learn from each other’s game, and are forever ready to lend a helping hand to anyone who comes asking.
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