Lara lights up Hong Kong

Brian Lara warms up for the Hong Kong Sixes tournament

Brian Lara is counting down the days to his return to action at the sold-out Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong Cricket Sixes, 13 years after he last appeared in the competition.

Lara, who retired earlier this year as Test cricket’s leading run-scorer with 11,953 runs, arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday morning and is eager to get into the thick of things at the Sixes with his All-Star team-mates – including two of his greatest rivals over his illustrious career, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.

Lara said: “It will be good to finally have two of my nemeses in Shane and Glenn on the same team with me.

"I am looking forward to that and I will have a chance to keep wicket to them as well, so I will be receiving a few deliveries from them.

“It is going to be an exciting time, though, with Heath Streak and Geraint Jones and all the other guys I have played against over the years.

"The Sixes is exciting stuff and, since I retired, this is my first stint back on the cricket field, so I am looking forward to it."

He last played in Hong Kong as a 25-year-old in 1994, when West Indies won the lower-level plate competition, just months after a golden seven-week stretch in which he recorded scores of 375 for West Indies against England and 501 for Warwickshire against Durham, to set world records for the highest score in both Test and first-class cricket.

Lara reclaims the record for the highest Test score

Lara reclaimed Test cricket’s highest score mark in 2004, again against England in Antigua, when he hammered 400 not out to take the record back from Matthew Hayden of Australia.

The West Indian legend was one of the stars at a junior clinic for more than 50 local Hong Kong children. Taking the time to give personal batting lessons to some lucky youngsters, he also spoke positively about the quality of the local players.

“I think it is awesome to have that experience and I see a lot of talent in Hong Kong," he added.

"Interacting with the kids, in whichever part of the world I go to, and to get the praise and applause from them was really good."

Joining Lara at the clinic were fellow All-Stars Craig McMillan, Geraint Jones and Heath Streak, plus New Zealand veterans Danny Morrison and Martin Crowe.

Hong Kong’s annual carnival of elite cricket, first played in 1992 and famed for its frenetic pace and high-scoring action, returns to Kowloon Cricket Club this weekend from October 27-28. The event is sold out, with tickets lasting less than a week after going on public sale.

This year’s event will feature eight leading cricketing nations, including defending champions South Africa, Australia, New Zealand Kiwis, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and England, plus hosts Hong Kong and, for the first time, an All-Star Team of the game’s brightest stars.

Last year, an unfancied South Africa defeated four-time champions Pakistan in a thrilling final, while the hosts Hong Kong finished fifth.