"Likely to have a crack at it" - Ex-England captain reveals Brian Lara's choices on who could break his 400* record amid Wiaan Mulder's heroics

Former England captain Michael Atherton recalled that Brian Lara predicted emerging batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Harry Brook to breach his iconic 400-run record in Test cricket. The monumental feat, attained over two decades ago, recently came under threat when South Africa's Wiaan Mulder scored an unbeaten 367 in the second Test against Zimbabwe.

The stand-in South Africa skipper chose to declare instead of having a go at the record, a decision which has received mixed reviews from the cricketing fraternity. Mulder's 367 ends up as the fifth-highest individual score in Test cricket, behind Brian Lara (twice), Matthew Hayden, and Mahela Jayawardene.

Atherton recalled asking Brian Lara as to who among the modern-day batters has a realistic shot of breaking his illustrious record.

"I spoke to Brian Lara on the eve of his first record breaking innings, his 375, and I said do you expect smoebody to break it? He said somebody will definitely break it because of the pace at which the modern player scores. I asked who is more likely to do it? He mentioned Yashasvi Jaiswal and Harry Brook, he thought perhaps they were likely to have a crack at it," Atherton said on the Sky Sports Podcast.

Both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Harry Brook are known for their appetite for runs, and are among the players who make it count when there are runs on offer from the pitch.

The Indian youngster already has a couple of double hundreds in the first couple of years in international cricket. He also has a high score of 265 in first-class cricket, made during the 2022 Duleep Trophy Final. Harry Brook, on the other hand, scored an imperious 317 in the first Test against Pakistan in 2024.

Dinesh Karthik recalled how Wiaan Mulder was being perceived as a makeshift No.3 during the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia at Lord's.

"First of all, he was the captain, he had the choice. He chose not to because he felt he needed time to bowl them out. Watching him in that WTC Final, in the comm box, a lot of the murmurs were, 'Oh, Wiaan Mulder at No.3? It must just be a fit in for just this match'. He had a tough start in the first innings, but came out there and fought really nicely and played a very valuable knock, even though not very big in numbers, but definitely made an impact. But did I expect him to get 367? I don't think so," Karthik said on the Sky Sports Podcast.

Mulder was dismissed for six runs off 44 deliveries in the first innings of the Final, and was castled by Pat Cummins. During the fourth innings run chase, he played a vital hand, scoring 27 runs off 50 deliveries after Ryan Rickelton's early dismissal. He saw off the new ball threat, putting a 61-run stand for the second wicket with Aiden Markram, before Temba Bavuma came into the picture.

"I'd had a couple of rum and cokes the night before" - Nasser Hussain recalls having to field during Brian Lara's marathon knock

Former England captain Nasser Hussain revealed that he had to be on the field despite not being in the playing XI in the fifth Test in 1994, while Lara piled on the runs.

Meanwhile in 2004, he was part of the playing XI of the Michael Vaughan-led side at the same venue, when Lara made the record that stands to this day.

"I was there for both of them (Lara's 375 and 400), I fielded. I'd had a couple of rum and cokes the night before and then Mark Ramprakash went down ill, and I'm in the field for 375. I go back years later, and he goes on and gets 400," Nasser Hussain said.

In recent times, there have not been many individual scores that have been close to the 400-run mark. Earlier this year, Tom Banton scored a sublime 371 while batting for Somerset against Worcestershire in the County Championship.