A night out with Brian Lara

Standard

By Nigel Matongorere

5 September 2010

WEST Indies cricket legend Brian Lara turned the Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) CBZ Awards 2010 into a one-man show on Friday night in Harare.
From the moment it was announced that he was going to grace the ceremony this was going to be the “Brian Lara Show” all over.
All the invited guests turned into groupies, as they could not resist the charming swag of the Trinidad-and-Tobago-born Lara who was escorted by his lovely partner Susan Gossage. High-ranking officials like Sports Minister David Coltart, Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda, ZC chairman Peter Chingoka and his managing director Ozias Bvute all wanted a piece of the legend.
Even controversial politician Professor Jonathan Moyo could not resist the allure of Lara and was among the 300-plus guests.
The night should have belonged to the local cricketers who were nominated for the awards, but they naturally humbled themselves because a true cricket great was in the building.
At every single moment all these high-ranking dignitaries took their opportunity to have their picture taken with Lara. Even journalists, me included dropped our pens and notebooks to have a chance to get our picture with Lara.
Everyone at the event should be forgiven for the way they behaved in the presence of The Price – as Lara is affectionately known in cricket circles. It’s not every night that you get to shake the hand of someone like Lara and have a picture with him taken to boot.
His exploits on the cricket pitch have been well documented and there is nothing more you can say except that Lara is indeed one of the greatest of all time.
When it was time for him to take to the podium and deliver his speech the entire place came to a standstill and the applause was awesome.
Lara spoke passionately about local cricket and still remembers vividly all his encounters since his first visit here as the West Indies A captain in 1989. He made it clear that he was disappointed because Zimbabwe has been very inconsistent on the pitch over the years.
“I played Test and one-day internationals against your national team but what always puzzled me was your great play at the beginning of each series which turned into shambolic performances later on. I can give you examples,” Lara said. “ In 2003, I came here as the captain of the West Indies, grassy track,  Fidel Edwards 95 miles per hour and (Corry) Collymore 93 miles per hour. “I thought well three days or four days this match was going to be over, but guess what Zimbabwe made 500 plus and bowled out the West Indies and scored another 200. “We came for six wickets and we now had a mammoth 400 or 500 to score. They cleaned up everybody. “With the last hour and a half of play our number seven batsman and Fidel Edwards staved off defeat for us.”
The match ended up in a draw and thinking of that series still brings back sad memories for many Zimbabweans.
In the second and final test played in Bulawayo Zimbabwe went on to lose by 128 runs and the West Indies clinched the series 1-0.
“In 2007 you played against another West Indies team led by Chris Gayle here in Zimbabwe,” he said. “You won the first ODI, but again ended up losing the series 3-1 and more recently you came to the Caribbeans in 2010 and I was actually in London with my girlfriend. “I looked up on the screen and I saw that Zimbabwe had scored 112 and I went to sleep. Later on one of my advisors woke me up and asked me what I had to say about the result in the Caribbean? “I said to him it was a no contest and he asked me it’s a no contest for whom?
“I said for West Indies and he said but you were bowled out for 77.
“Obviously Zimbabwe won the first ODI, but guess what they went on to lose the series 4-1.”
On the night United Kingdom based all-rounder Elton Chigumbura walked away with the top award of Cricketer of the Year.
Mid-West Rhinos’ opener Vusi Sibanda was crowned batsman of the year. Sibanda’s teamate Graeme Cremer scooped the award for Bowler of the Year.
The Female Cricketer of the Year award went to Sharne Meyers.
Mountaineers fast bowler Tendai Chatara took two awards for Best Rookie and Most Promising Cricketer.
National team assistant coach Stephen Mangongo took the Coach of the  Year accolade for his tenure with Mountaineers last season.
To cap off a fine night for the Mountaineers, the Manicaland-based franchise was voted the Best Franchise Team of the Year. Russell Tiffin was crowned Umpire of the Year.