Had Tim Paine not declared when he did as Australian captain in the first innings of the second Test against Pakistan, the swashbuckling David Warner would've had the opportunity to take his stay further beyond the 335 runs he had scored and perhaps break West Indies great Brian Lara's 400 not out record.
Now, Lara, whose mammoth feat against England in 2004 remains the highest-ever individual Test score yet, reckons Warner is definitely the one who has the positive mindset and attacking strokeplay to some day be able to go past him. And had he done so in Adelaide, the legendary southpaw says, he was planning to meet Warner there like Sir Garfield Sobers had met him in Antigua when he went past the great man's epic 365.
"I was hoping they might catch me and get me (out) there and that was one of the reasons I was hoping they might have let him go for it," Lara told News Corp.
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"It would have been amazing to walk out there (as Sobers did). Records are made to be broken. It’s great when they are broken by attacking players. Entertainers. Being in Adelaide I would have got an opportunity to if not walk out at least meet him at this opportune time."
"I still think Warner may have time to do it in his career. I know he is not a spring chicken but as soon as you get that 300 you know how to get 400. He may get another shot at it," he added.
"He is a very attacking player and that is the sort of player who can always set you up for a win. I know you need stabilizers but you also need one or two players like David Warner and Sir Vivian Richards who can take the game with their bats."
While captains today have greater incentive to go for the results with the Test championship points on offer, Paine's declaration is under the scrutiny of many including Lara for the amount of time that was still left in the game. "It was a great innings," he said. "I can see that Australia winning the match was the major thing and the weather was a big factor but I would have loved to have seen Australia go for it. Being here I would have loved to see it. Even if they say 'hey David, you have got 12 overs, see if you could do it by tea time' It would have been great."
"They were justified by picking up six wickets last night and you can see today things are slower so the declaration came at the right time."
"But after passing Sir Donald Bradman I would have loved to see him race towards me. I was getting dressed to come back near the end of his innings," Lara added.
"I was listening to commentators say whether he would have a go at Matthew Hayden’s 380 but I felt if he got to 381 he would have to have a go at my record."
(Inputs from News Corp)
