Wiaan Mulder explains his side’s declaration at 367, with Brian Lara’s record of 400 right there for the taking.
On day two of the second Test match against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, Wiaan Mulder went to lunch at 367, giving him a chance to surpass Brian Lara’s world-record 400. Mulder, the interim captain, however, stopped short of the record because he believed that “Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be” and announced the innings during the break.
“Well, first things first, I thought we’ve got enough, we need to bowl. And secondly, Brian Lara is a legend, let’s be real,” Mulder told Shaun Pollock during the post-day interview with SuperSport. “He got 401 [400*] or whatever it was against England. And for someone of that stature to keep that record is pretty special. I think if I get the chance again, I’d probably do the same thing. I know I was speaking to Shuks [coach Shukri Conrad].
“He kind of said to me as well, like ‘listen, let the legends keep the really big scores’. You never know what’s my fate or whatever you want to call it, what’s destined for me. But I think Brian Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be.”
However, Mulder shattered Zimbabwe’s attack on the day as well as several other records. He surpassed Hashim Amla’s 311* to become just the second South African player to reach the triple-hundred. And he hummed to himself as he did it.
“I mean, there was a lot of thoughts,” Mulder said. “In the end, it’s just singing my song between balls and trying to keep myself natural and trying to keep myself present. Kept feeling my shoes, that type of thing, to make sure I’m in the moment and not too far ahead.
“And, to be honest, when I went past Hash’s score, I didn’t really notice what actually happened until I looked up. I was on 312. I was like, ‘oh, wow! I was just on 300’. I don’t know how I got there, but yeah, it was truly special.
“In Bangladesh, it was an Afrikaans song that I got to my hundred with and I lost it a little bit along the way. And in this song, in this game, it was Zombie by The Cranberries. So I just sing Zombie.”