West Indies legend Chris Gayle has voiced his disappointment over Wiaan Mulder’s decision to declare South Africa’s innings when he was closing in on Brian Lara’s all-time Test record of 400 not out. The former West Indies star believes Mulder missed a golden opportunity to rewrite cricketing history.
Captaining South Africa in a Test for the first time, Mulder was within touching distance of surpassing Lara’s 400-run mark during the second Test against Zimbabwe. However, he chose to declare the innings unbeaten on 367, ending his pursuit of the record. South Africa went on to win the match by an innings and 236 runs.
The seam-bowling all-rounder admitted he intentionally opted not to surpass the record. In a post-match interview with Shaun Pollock, Mulder said he wanted the record to remain with the ‘legend’ Lara.
“Brian Lara is a legend, let’s be real. He got 401 or whatever it was against England. And for someone of that stature to keep that record is pretty special,” Mulder explained.
However, Gayle strongly disagreed, calling it a major mistake.
“He panicked and he blundered, straight up,” Gayle told talkSPORT. “I think it was an error on his part not to go for it. We don’t know whether he would have made it or not, but he declared on 367 and said what he had to say. But listen, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to score 400 in a Test match. Come on, youngster — you’ve blown it big time!”
Gayle added that Mulder missed his chance to etch his name in history.
“Come on, you’re on 367 — automatically, you have to take a shot at the record. If you want to be a legend, how else are you going to become one? Records make legends,” he said.
Although Mulder didn’t break Lara’s record, his marathon knock still smashed several other records and remains a memorable performance in the history of the game.
For more exciting articles, follow RevSportz.