Lara certainly didn’t lose his composure out in the middle, as 11,953 runs in Tests and 10,405 in ODIs, 53 international centuries, the highest (400*) and third highest (375) individual scores in Test cricket indicate.

Across in New York, as part of the ICC’s 2019 World Cup trophy tour, Lara explained how he worked out on that ‘battlefield’ and hit the only quadruple century in Test cricket: “Never (any nerves) during, any nerves were only before I walked out to bat.

On to matters of greater import in a wider sense, and Lara backed the ICC’s policy of limiting the World T20 to 16 teams and the World Cup to 10 teams. “The most important thing for the ICC to consider is the growth of the game, where that will happen is in the T20 format. All the countries that are taking to the sport as of late are naturally attracted to T20 format since it’s the most exciting,” he argued.

“Moving on to the longer formats, you want good quality and intense cricket and only the best teams in the world can offer that. Therefore, I feel the number of teams in the World T20 being 16 and the number in the ODI World Cup being 10 is just right.”

And one of the big debates – should cricket be at the Olympic Games or not? “The T20 format lasts just three hours so I don’t see why it can’t be included in the Olympics. It was nice to see golf get that opportunity again, it’s time for cricket now,” said Lara.