The legend who inspired Lara to take up cricket

'This man inspired me to be the cricketer I am today.'

West Indies batting great Brian Lara revealed the person who inspired him to take up cricket.

"Trust me, he looks better in person. This man inspired me to be the cricketer I am today #legend #sirvivrichards @ivivianrichards," posted Lara on Twitter, as he shared a picture of himself alongside the statue of Viv Richards in Antigua

The 67-year-old Richards is regarded as one of the best batsman to have played the sport and played a key in West Indies' World Cup triumphs in 1975 and 1979.

Richards scored 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches, while hitting 6,721 runs in the ODI format at an average of 47.

On the other hand, Lara recorded the highest individual score in Test cricket as he hit a magnificent 400 against England in 2004.

He also holds the record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, as he scored 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994.

Lara also shares the Test record of scoring the highest number of runs in a single over in a Test match. He smashed South Africa's Robin Peterson of South Africa for 28 runs in a single over in 2003.

The left-handed Lara played 131 Tests and 299 ODIs for West Indies. He managed to score 11,953 runs in the longest format of the game while he registered 10,405 runs in the 50-over format.