West Indies legend Brian Lara has revealed an early morning phone call to Australian batsman Matthew Hayden helped make him a leader for West Indies cricket.

It came after Hayden scored 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003 in Perth to hold the record for the highest individual score in Test cricket, overtaking Lara’s 375 against England which was previously set in 1994.

Lara who played 131 Tests in a career spanning 17 years scored 11,953 runs at an average of 52.88 and reclaimed the world record with a stunning knock of 400 not out against England in 2004.

The 50-year-old told The Cricket Show that Hayden breaking his record gave him an opportunity to show his leadership capabilities.

“I remember I was in Jamaica in 2003 and my manager called me and he said I have a number for you – you need to call Matthew Hayden – he just broke your record,” Lara said.

“It was four o’clock in the morning in Jamaica and I got up and called Matthew Hayden.

“At that point in time I actually felt it was a good thing because I struggled having two of the records and not being a good leader with West Indies cricket.

“I felt that this was an opportunity where I could actually go out and show my leadership because there was always that cushion of being a gullible record holder.

“But I didn’t know that six months later I was going to be in Antigua against the same country England, on the same pitch in the same month, April and 1994 and 2004 and it just happened.”

Lara who played his final Test for the West Indies in 2006 finished with 34 centuries and 48 fifties and remains the world record holder.

He also played 299 ODIs for the West Indies and scored 10,405 runs at an average of 40.48.

Click ‘play’ to hear the full interview below.

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