Wiaan Mulder Reveals Why He Didnt Break Brian Laras Test Record
South Africa stand-in captain Wiaan Mulder opened up on his decision to declare when he was 34 runs short of breaking Brian’s Lara’s iconic record of 400 runs in the ongoing second Test of the two-game series against Zimbabwe.
Coming in to bat at number three, Mulder captaining South Africa for the first time, was 367 not out off 334 balls at lunch on the second day of the second Test against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. He was 33 runs behind the 400 not out West Indies legend Lara made against England in Antigua in 2004.
It was expected that Mulder would come back after lunch and try to break Lara’s historic record. However, in a shocking decision, Mulder declared South Africa’s first innings on 626-5 at lunch, deciding to not chase Lara’s elusive record in Test cricket.
The Proteas all-rounder, who is leading South Africa for the first time in Test cricket, believes West Indies legend Brian Lara deserved to keep his record of 400 not out, which he scored against England.
“First things first, I thought we’d got enough and we need to bowl. And secondly Brian Lara is a legend, let’s be real. He got 400 against England and for someone of that stature to keep that record is pretty special,” Mulder told South African broadcaster SuperSport.
“If I get the chance again I’d probably do the same thing,” he added.
Mulder further mentioned that he also got support for his decision from coach Shukri Conrad.
“I was speaking to our coach Shukri Conrad and he kind of said to me, ‘Listen, let the legends keep the really big scores’. And you never know what my fate or whatever you want to call it, or what’s destined for me, but I think Brian Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be,” he said.
Regardless of his decision, Mulder etched his name in the history books. His 367 not out is the fifth-highest individual score in Test cricket history. The right-handed batter stands only behind Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden and Mahela Jayawardena among the highest individual scorers in Men’s Tests.
Highest Individual Scores In Test Cricket
400* – Brian Lara for West Indies v England, Antigua 2004
380 – Matthew Hayden for Australia v Zimbabwe, Perth 2003
375 – Brian Lara for West Indies v England, Antigua 1994
374 – Mahela Jayawardene for Sri Lanka v South Africa, Colombo 2006
367* – Wiaan Mulder for South Africa v Zimbabwe, Bulawayo 2025
Earlier, the 37-year-old Mulder became the first batter to score a triple hundred on Test captaincy debut. He scored the second quickest triple hundred in the history of the format (297), behind only Virender Sehwag, who had got past the milestone off 278 deliveries against South Africa in Chennai back in 2008.
South Africa is leading the series 1-0 after registering a massive 328-run victory in the first Test in Bulawayo.
