Lara And Bakewell To Be Inducted Into The ICC Cricket Hall Of Fame

The International Cricket Council today announced that Brian Lara and Enid Bakewell will be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame tomorrow evening at the LG ICC Awards 2012.

Brian Lara. Photo by Shiek Mohamed

West Indies’ Lara becomes the 67th male member of the Hall of Fame, while England’s Bakewell becomes the third woman to be inducted.

Lara and Bakewell will attend the LG ICC Awards tomorrow evening at the Waters Edge in Colombo.

Two further inductees will be announced later in the year.

The duo of Bakewell and Lara attended a special Hall of Fame cocktail reception on Friday evening to celebrate their inductions. The reception was attended by a variety of Lara’s former team-mates as well as the current West Indies squad.

Also attending the reception were members of the Ireland squad, along with their coach and Lara’s former team-mate Phil Simmons, as well as bowling coach Craig McDermott.

Brian Lara was one of the West Indies most prolific batsmen having represented the country for 131 Tests and 299 ODIs in a career that spanned 17 years. He amassed some 11,953 runs at an average of 52.88.

He scored 34 Test centuries and 48 half-centuries while his best performance with the bat featured against England in Antigua in 2004 when he scored 400 not out and to this day that total still remains the highest by any Test batsmen in an individual innings.

In the 299 ODIs that Lara played he scored 10,405 runs at an average of 40.48 that included 19 centuries and 63 half-centuries and in 1994, when captaining the West Indies, he led the team to victory in the ICC Champions Trophy in England.

Lara’s First Class career began in 1987 and when it ended in 2008 he had scored 22,156 runs with his highest score coming in the English County Championship playing for Warwickshire against Durham when he hit an unbeaten 501 in 1994.

Lara said of the induction: “I think it’s a very humbling experience for me. First of all, to be considered and then to be selected is a great moment. To be named alongside some of the great cricketers not just from West Indies but from all around the world like Sir Garfield Sobers, the Three Ws, Sir Vivian Richards is a very special feeling.”

“I had quite a few special moments in my career. I think our 2-1 series win in Australia in 1993 under Richie Richardson was very special. Then obviously winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004 under my leadership was also a very special occasion,’’ added Lara.

Joining Lara in the Hall of Fame is one of England’s all time cricketing legends from the female game, Enid Bakewell.

Born in Nottinghamshire in 1940, Bakewell played the majority of her cricket for the East Midlands, Nottinghamshire Women and of course England Women.

One of England’s best all-rounders she made her Test debut in 1968 against Australia in Adelaide where she scored a century on debut while her ODI debut came in 1973 in Hove, Sussex. She scored 1,078 Test runs at an average of 59.88 while she claimed 50 Test wickets with her useful left-arm spin at an average of just 16.13.

In 1979, playing the West Indies, Bakewell became the first English player, male or female to score a century and take 10 wickets in a Test, which was also her last appearance for England. Only fellow Hall of Famers Ian Botham, Alan Davidson and Imran Khan have achieved the feat in the men’s game while alongside Bakewell, Australia’s Betty Wilson also holds the accolade.

A delighted Bakewell said: “I do feel very honoured. To be named after, Rachael Heyhoe Flint is a huge moment for me. Rachael was a huge inspiration for me. My induction into this elite panel is also a big statement for women’s cricket.”

*ICC Cricket Hall of Fame – initial inductees (55):
Sydney Barnes, Bishan Bedi, Alec Bedser, Richie Benaud, Allan Border, Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott, Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Lance Gibbs, Graham Gooch, David Gower, WG Grace, Tom Graveney, Gordon Greenidge, Richard Hadlee, Walter Hammond, Neil Harvey, George Headley, Jack Hobbs, Michael Holding, Leonard Hutton, Rohan Kanhai, Imran Khan, Alan Knott, Jim Laker, Harold Larwood, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Clive Lloyd, Hanif Mohammad, Rodney Marsh, Malcolm Marshall, Peter May, Javed Miandad, Keith Miller, Bill O’Reilly, Graeme Pollock, Wilfred Rhodes, Barry Richards, Vivian Richards, Andy Roberts, Garfield Sobers, Brian Statham, Fred Trueman, Derek Underwood, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, Frank Woolley, Frank Worrell.

2009 Inductees:
Herbert Sutcliffe, Steve Waugh, Wasim Akram, Victor Trumper, Clarrie Grimmett.

2010 Inductees
Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Ken Barrington, Courtney Walsh, Joel Garner.

2011 Inductees
Belinda Clark, Frederick Spofforth, Curtly Ambrose, Alan Davidson.

2012 Inductees
Brian Lara and Enid Bakewell with two more to be announced later in the year.