It took him almost 13 hours and 582 balls, but under the brilliant Antiguan sun, Brian Lara romped his way into the record books (again) as he smashed a new world record with 400 runs scored in a single test innings. Lara became only the second man after Australia's Donald Bradman to make two test triple centuries when he passed 300 on Sunday. The West Indian Captain also became the first test cricketer to score 400 runs in a single innings. In the process he cracked 43 four and 4 sixes, including a massive straight six to equal the previous record (held by Australian Matthew Hayden) of 380 runs.

Lara reclaimed his record on the same ground (the Antigua Recreation Ground) on which, 10 years earlier, he made a brilliant 375 to first take the record from West Indian great Gary Sobers (who made 365 runs). Last year, Hayden scored 380 runs in a test match against Zimbabwe.

Of course, this is the great game of cricket, so for all you folks more familiar with baseball, Lara has achieved the equivalent of facing 582 pitches without getting out, hitting the outfield fence 43 times, hitting it out of the park 4 times, and (in distance) running the equivalent of over 100 laps around the bases over the course of those 13 hours.

The sheer enormity of Lara’s feat probably won’t be appreciated for years to come. It comes at a time when the hopes of West Indian cricket have been diminishing. He arrived in Antigua with the heavy baggage of abysmally low scores (100 runs in six individual innings) and amid questions being asked of his eyes and issues being raised about his weight. On top of all this, the West Indies has already lost the current test series to hated rivals England. If there was ever a time that someone needed to step up and shine, it was now. That is exactly what Lara managed to do. Scoring 400 runs in one inning is nothing less than an epic feat of concentration and determination, and as he leapt into the air to celebrate his accomplishment, Lara raised the hopes of West Indian fans around the world. Once again, Lara has put the Caribbean on the sports map, and in the process firmly planted himself at the top of cricket’s batting hierarchy.