South Africa allrounder and stand-in captain Wiaan Mulder has revealed that West Indies legend Brian Lara encouraged him to break the long-standing record for the highest individual score in Test cricket during last week’s second Test against Zimbabwe.
Mulder stunned the cricketing world with a marathon unbeaten 367, the highest ever by a South African and now the fifth-highest score in Test history. Yet, despite being within striking distance of Lara’s iconic 400 not out — set against England in Antigua in 2004 — Mulder chose to declare at lunch on the second day of the match in Bulawayo, prioritising the team’s position.
Speaking to SuperSport, Mulder shared that Lara later expressed his surprise at the decision.
“Now that things have settled a little bit, I’ve chatted a little bit to Brian Lara,” said Mulder. “He said to me I’m creating my own legacy and I should have gone for it. He said records are there to be broken and he wishes if I’m ever in that position again, I actually go and score more than what he had.”
Mulder had previously defended his decision, saying: “Brian Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be,” and that he felt respecting the game was paramount. South Africa’s head coach, Shukri Conrad, also supported the move, reportedly telling him: “Listen, let the legends keep the really big scores.”
South Africa went on to win the match convincingly by an innings and 236 runs inside three days, but the decision not to pursue the record has sparked wide debate within the cricketing world.
Former West Indies opener Chris Gayle, one of only four players with two triple centuries in Tests, weighed in earlier this week.
“Maybe he panicked,” Gayle told talkSPORT. “That doesn’t happen often. You don’t know when you’re going to get to a triple century again. Any time you get a chance like that, you try and make the best out of it. If you want to be a legend… how are you going to become a legend? Records come with being a legend.”
Mulder’s 367 not out surpasses Jacques Kallis’s 224 to stand alone as South Africa’s highest individual Test score, and has further cemented his place among the game’s elite — even if he stopped just short of history.
Whether or not he will get another chance to chase down Lara’s monumental record remains to be seen, but for now, Mulder’s decision continues to stir admiration and debate in equal measure.