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For 101 minutes, for 24 overs, Brian Lara thrilled the gathering at the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) on Sunday afternoon with a scintillating display of strokes during which he blasted Australia for 100 glorious runs - the century coming in 96 minutes off 82 deliveries with three massive sixes and 15 sparkling fours.

In an incredible performance after a tentative start, Lara scored his century out of a total of 116 runs while he was batting - the last 69 coming off only 30 deliveries after tea when he sailed into the attack and smashed his three sixes and nine of his fours.

Not since Viv Richards sprinted to a century off 56 deliveries against England in 1986 had Antiguans witnessed anything like that, and it left them in ecstasy. They went home singing and dancing, and praising their god - even though the West Indies ended the second day of the Test match 106 runs behind Australia's 303.

Yesterday, however, as the West Indies lost wicket after wicket to end up trailing on first innings, as West Indians pondered the possibility of losing the Test match and sharing the series, Lara's performance was put under the microscope, and almost in one accord, the fans labelled it as irresponsible.

With the match being a contest, the fans may be correct: maybe Lara, as he did at Sabina Park while setting the stage for victory, and as he did at Kensington Oval while guiding his team to victory, should have cooled it, paced himself and played for a really big innings.

There is another side to the argument, however.

Apart from the fact that Lara is not the only batsman in the team even though he is so much better than the rest and so much depends on him, there is no guarantee that he would not have been dismissed earlier had he played differently.

On top of that, there are times when attack is the best form of defence and with Glenn McGrath bowling brilliantly and having him in trouble, with right-arm legspinner Stuart MacGill getting the ball to spin appreciably, he decided to back his skills, to go for them, and was so successful that he kept going.

Instead of criticising Lara, the fans should look at the other batsmen who, after Lara had beaten the bowlers to their knees, had left them begging for mercy and had set the stage for his colleagues to preen themselves, they, but for Carl Hooper, pushed, and plodded, and dropped like flies - so much so that one wondered if they were playing on the same pitch on which Lara was so at ease, and against the same bowlers who were plundered by Lara.

There is no question that he is one of the greatest batsmen in the world, one of the finest strokeplayers, and the most devastating on the go. He expressed himself and dominated the bowlers representing the best team in the world and for 96 minutes, he entertained the fans who enjoyed themselves.

It would be a pity if the West Indies lose the match after all that, but for those who love sport, those who love to see the best at their best, those who love to see great players rising to a challenge, those who love cricket and those who enjoy the art of batsmanship, Lara's brilliance on Sunday was a treat.