World Cup Countdown #39 - Brian Lara bids adieu

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Nineteen hundreds, 63 fifties, 299 matches and 10,405 runs - these are numbers any cricketer would love to have and these were the numbers Brian Charles Lara finished with, to bring down the curtains on his excellent ODI career. However, it was a tame end to a terrific journey and it all came to a close in the 2007 World Cup match between West Indies and England at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

The stadium was packed as people flocked in to watch the left-handed dazzler in his farewell match. The match itself was a thriller and was one of the best matches of the 9th edition of the multi-team tournament. Four half-centuries and one hundred were witnessed in the Super 8 match played on 21st April 2007. However, none of that came from Lara's bat as the ravishing stroke-maker managed only 18 runs in his last hurrah.

Half-centuries by openers, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith provided the ideal platform for West Indies and they could not ask anyone better than Lara to build on the good start. He looked set to power the Caribbean side forward, starting off with a trade-mark, on-the-up shot for a four square off the wicket off Andrew Flintoff, a stylish flick off James Anderson for a boundary and guiding a Flintoff delivery to the third-man fence.

He moved to 18 in quick time and was looking good for more when he had to depart; and it wasn't his fault at all. In the 31st over of the innings, Marlon Samuels played a Stuart Broad delivery to mid-on and seemed interested in picking up a single. Lara responded immediately, taking off from the non-striker's end. However, Samuels had a change of heart, deciding to turn back, and he left his partner stranded as a throw from Kevin Pietersen found the stumps on the direct. A standing ovation and a lot of hand-shakes accompanied Lara as he left the field.

While his final outing with the bat did not quite turn out memorable, Lara would have at least hoped to sign off on a winning note. West Indies looked good to send him on a high as they had managed a total of 300 before reducing England to 189/6 in the 36th over. However, Pietersen was back to ruin the West Indian's party again as he scored a terrific 100 off 91 to pave way for England's thrilling win with one delivery and one wicket to spare.

Lara, after making his final international appearance, signed off by asking this question: "did I entertain?"