Give your Birthday Wishes to Brian Lara in the comments below.

There is no doubt in one's mind that he is a batsman with a vociferous appetite for runs. In the year 1994, he broke his countryman Gary Sobers' long standing record for many decades by scoring a brilliant 375. As if to prove that this was not a fluke, he followed it up with an unbeaten 501 in a first class match for Warwickshire the following season. In 2004, Lara became the first batsman to reclaim the highest individual Test score record by scoring a 400 against England, in the process breaking Hayden's 380.

Lara's attitude towards cricket can be best described as moody brilliance. To go with the above records, he is probably the only batsman to have tackled Murali the way he did, scoring 600-odd runs in a three match series in Sri Lanka, his innings epitomized by quicksilver feet movement. And then there were times, when he looked good to be anywhere but the batting crease, almost as if his mind's not on the job. On retirement, Lara is one of the few cricketers, whose Test average was more than his First Class one!