"We need to do anything possible to make sure he didn’t break Brian Lara’s record" - Dale Steyn recalls how proteas kept West Indian's record alive

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowling coach Dale Steyn shared an intriguing story of how the Proteas helped protect West Indian great Brian Lara's Test record for the highest individual score. Lara recently celebrated the 19th anniversary of the day he scored the highest Test score of 400 not out against England in Antigua in 2004.

On SRH's YouTube channel, Steyn recalled SRH head coach Lara sitting on the team bus and reminiscing about his knock, to which he responded:

"I literally just looked at him and said, ‘You’re welcome. You still have your record due to South Africa.'"

The story dates back to the first Test in July 2006 when South Africa toured Sri Lanka for a two-match series. The Proteas won the toss, elected to bat first, and were bundled out for a paltry 169. In reply, the islanders were stuttering at 14-2 when Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene joined hands.

Recalling the chain of events that transpired, Dale Steyn said:

"This is where the story starts to kick in. Mahela (Jayawardene) and (Kumar) Sangakkara are batting together, Sangakkara is on strike. He cuts one straight to Jacques Rudolph at point, he drops the catch and it lands on the floor. The very next ball I run in, I’m an angered young man…Sanga drags the ball onto the stumps. Umpire puts his hand out and its a no ball.”

Steyn continued:

"We never sniffed a wicket in that entire time. At Tea on day three, we’d been fielding for two and a half days in the sun. Ashwell (Prince, who was captain on the tour) and the South Africans all get together and our team talk was not about how we’re gonna draw or win this game. Mahela was on 370 somewhere and we just said, ‘We need to do anything possible to make sure he didn’t break Brian Lara’s record.'”

Sangakkara and Jayawardene's partnership of 624 runs remains the highest to date in Test history. The pair formed one of the most prolific pairings in Test cricket, as together they scored over 24,000 Test runs and an incredible 72 centuries.

"For some crazy weird reason this ball didn’t get higher than ankle height" - Dale Steyn recalls how the Proteas finally managed to dismiss Jayawardene

Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene tormented South Africa for two full days.

With Mahela Jayawardene seemingly destined to break Brian Lara's record of 400, Dale Steyn recalled how the Proteas finally managed to dismiss the Sri Lankan 26 runs short of the record.

Speaking to the SRH YouTube channel, Steyn said:

"We come out of the tea. Andre Nel is the bowler. And I’ve been fielding at mid off for most of this game. I’d seen everything happen in this game at mid off. I think he had run every milestone to me. I think he just blocked the ball and ran to me at this point. Nel ran in, he dragged one short, it was halfway down the pitch. I basically looked at the square leg because the bulk of the time that was where the ball was going. And for some crazy weird reason this ball didn’t get higher than ankle height and it castled Mahela’s stumps and we got him out for 374.”

Jayawardene's 374 remains the fourth-highest score in Test history, behind Lara's 400 and 375 against England and Matthew Hayden's 380 against Zimbabwe.

Sri Lanka would go on to win the first Test by an innings and 153 runs and followed it up with a thrilling victory in the second Test to win the series 2-0.

It is interesting to note that the series was the last away series that the Proteas lost up until the 2015 tour of India, which they lost 3-0.