Date-stamped : 29 Dec93 - 06:26 The Guardian 5 January 1993 - Lara leads revival with his maiden Test century Third Test, third day: Australia v West Indies Brian Lara, Richie Richardson and rain that swept the Sydney Cricket Ground combined to frustrate Australia and offer West In- dies some hope on the third day of the third Test yesterday. When bad weather forced an early close, West Indies had done well to reach 248 for two in reply to Australia's 503 for nine declared, but 304 is the target to avoid the follow-on. Lara hit 121, his maiden Test century, and Richardson made 94 in an unbroken stand of 217 that was the highest in Australia by West Indies, beating the 198 between Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kal- licharran in Brisbane in 1975-76. The partnership was built at just over a run a minute and Richardson was playing strongly when the rain frustrated him too, leaving him to resume today still needing six runs for his centu- ry. Lara's innings was faultless, and the batsmen embraced in the middle of the wicket to a standing ovation from the 15,000 crowd when he reached his century off 125 balls in two hours and 50 minutes. He struck 15 fours and Richardson contributed 11. They came together with the score 31 for two after Desmond Haynes was dismissed for 22 just after the start of the day's play. He edged a delivery from the spinner Greg Matthews through his legs and on to his stumps. From the start Lara and Richardson pushed the score along with sweetly timed hooks and drives, taking advantage of an outfield that was lightning-fast, and Lara discounted suggestions that his side's best hope was for a draw. ''On this wicket I'm looking forward to a double century,'' he said. ''We are still in the game and if we get past their total quickly we can put Australia under pressure.'' The Guardian 6 January 1993 - Lara in Sobers mood. Third Test, fourth day: Australia v West Indies Brian Lara had a champagne day at the Sydney Cricket Ground yes- terday but there was a metaphorical bucket of cold water waiting for him on his return to the dressing room after being run out. 15 runs behind Australia's 503 for nine. But, as he had just batted his way into the record books at the age of 23 by making 277, supplanting Gordon Greenidge's 226 in Barbados in 199091 as the top West Indian score against Aus- tralia, the left-hander may well be forgiven a flop in his next knock. On the ground where Gary Sobers made 168 in the ''tied Test'' series of 196061, Lara used the overnight foundation of his maiden Test century to build an eight-hour innings, featuring 38 boundaries. A day shorn of two hours by rain and bad light was also il- lumined by a stand of 293 with Richie Richardson, 15 short of his team's third-wicket record set at St John's almost a decade ago by Richardson and Viv Richards. The captain duly completed his 15th Test century but his fluent 109 ended when he was caught on the boundary. Lara's 277 puts him fourth in the Caribbean honour roll behind Sobers's all-time Test record of 365, Lawrence Rowe (302) and Richards (291). Lara's post-match theme was about records: ''I had my sights set on the 365. When I got to 265 I started counting down. I thought I could end the day on 300-plus and head for 365 tomorrow.'' But smart fielding by Damien Martyn at cover point when Lara mis- judged a single left him 10 runs short of the highest individual score at the SCG - the 287 made by England's Reg Foster back in 1904. Running him out was about the only way Australia were going to see the back of Lara yesterday short of deportation, with his captain describing his untroubled passage into Wisden as have ever seen.'' Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)