By the end of the second day’s play, Mulder had reached 367 runs. He was just 33 runs short of Lara’s score achieved against England in Antigua in 2004. At that point, he declared the innings, leaving the record unbroken. Mulder later stated, ‘Firstly, I felt we had enough runs and should bowl. Secondly, Brian Lara is a legend. It’s fitting for someone of his stature to hold that record. If I had the chance again, I’d do exactly the same. I spoke to Shukri Conrad, and he felt the same way. Brian Lara is a legend and deserves to hold this record.’
He has now revealed that Lara called him and expressed regret that the record wasn’t broken. Mulder, speaking to SuperSport, said, “Brian Lara told me I should have gone for the record. That meant a lot to me. I was happy to hear that from him. He’s a legend of the game, and his 400 runs are still one of cricket’s greatest records. Things are a little better now, I felt relieved after speaking to Brian Lara. He told me to make my own name and that I should have gone after the record. He said records are meant to be broken and that he wants me to surpass what he did if I ever find myself in that situation again.”
Mulder added, ‘That was his point of view, but I still believe I did the right thing, and respecting the game is the most important part for me.’ However, West Indies cricket legend Chris Gayle is far from pleased with Mulder’s decision, believing he made a significant mistake out of nervousness.
Gayle told ‘TalkSport’, “If I had the chance to score 400 runs, I would have gone for it. It doesn’t happen all the time. You don’t know when you’ll get another triple century. Whenever you get such an opportunity, you try to make the most of it. But Mulder was very generous in this matter. He said he wanted the record to remain with Brian Lara. Maybe he was nervous. He didn’t know what to do in that situation. Suppose you’re on 367; you have to take the risk of breaking the record. How else will you become a legend, because records come with being a legend.”
Gayle labelled the decision a mistake, stating, “I think it was a big mistake by Mulder that he didn’t try to break this record. We don’t know if he would have achieved it or not, but he declared the innings at a personal score of 367 and said what he had to say. But also consider that the opportunity to score 400 runs in a Test innings doesn’t come often in life. Young man, you missed it.”
Gayle concluded, “It doesn’t matter which opposing team it is. If you score 100 runs against any team, it’s a Test century. If you score 200, 300, or 400 runs, that’s Test cricket. It’s the best game. Mulder got nervous and made a mistake.”
