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South Africa all-rounder Wiaan Mulder was the stand-in captain against Zimbabwe in the second Test. As Mulder completed his triple century, there was a buzz that he could break Brian Lara's record for highest individual score in Test cricket, the 400 not out against England. However, after the first session on Day 2, with plenty of time in hand to bowl out Zimbabwe, he chose not to return with the bat and declared the innings. The decision stunned many but Mulder revealed that it was his decision. Many greats of the game have weighed in on Mulder missing out on the golden opportunity. Days after his much-talked-about call, Mulder revealed that the West Indies legend Lara wanted him to break the record.
"Now that things have settled a little bit, I've chatted a little bit to Brian Lara. 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 told SuperSport.
However, Mulder believes that he made the right call by not breaking the legend's record.
"That was an interesting point of view from his side, but I still believe I did the right thing and respecting the game is the most important part for me," the pace-bowling all-rounder added.
Gayle disappointed with Mulder's decision
While Mulder told former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock that Lara should keep the record, the legend's former teammate Chris Gayle said that the Proteas cricketer made an error of judgement.
“If I could get the chance to get 400, I would get 400. 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. But he was so generous and said he wanted the record to stay with Brian Lara. Maybe he panicked; he didn’t know what to do in that situation. Like I said, he panicked and he blundered, straight up,” Gayle told TalkSport.
“Come on, you’re on 367; automatically, you have to take a chance at the record. If you want to be a legend, how are you going to become a legend? Records come with being a legend. I think it was an error from his side, not to try and go to get it. But listen, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get 400 runs in a Test match. Come on, youngster, you’ve blown it big time!” the self-proclaimed '"Universe Boss" added.
Mulder's 367 not out is still the highest individual score by a South Africa cricketer in Test cricket. Also, it is the fifth-highest individual score of all-time in Tests.
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