Sam Northeast of Glamorgan emulates Brian Lara to score 400 runs in an innings in first-class cricket

Glamorgan batter Sam Northeast, on Saturday, July 23, scored an unbeaten 410 against Leicestershire in the County Championship match in Leicester.

Right-handed batter Sam Northeast is yet to represent England in any of the three formats of international cricket after making his debut way back in 2007. However, the 32-year-old’s hunger to score runs hasn’t died down. In Glamorgan’s match against Leicestershire in the County Championship Division 2 at Grace Road in Leicester, Northeast scored an unbeaten 410.

Northeast’s knock off 450, laced with 45 fours and three sixes, helped Glamorgan score 795 for 5 declared in their first innings. Northeast and wicketkeeper Chris Cooke stitched together an unbeaten 461-run partnership for the sixth wicket and guided Glamorgan to a crucial 211-run lead in the first innings.

Northeast came to bat after openers David Lloyd and Eddie Byrom perished with Glamorgan’s score at 9 for 2 in 6.1 overs. Thereafter, Northeast and Colin Ingram put on 306 for the third wicket to bring their team back into the contest. Glamorgan lost Ingram, Kiran Carlson and Billy Root in quick succession, but Northeast held the fort and kept marching on.

Northeast, in the meantime, became the first batter after the legendary Brian Lara to score a 400 in first-class cricket. Back in April 2004, the left-handed Lara creamed the English bowling and scored an unbeaten 400 at the Antigua Recreation Ground in St John's, Antigua.

Lara’s knock off 582 balls helped West Indies score 751 for 5 declared against Michael Vaughan’s England. The match ended in a draw, but Lara won the Player of the Match for his stupendous knock. After 18 and a half years, Lara’s record in Test cricket is still intact.

As far as Northeast is concerned, he has scored nearly 12,000 runs in first-class cricket with 27 centuries and 61 half-centuries to his name. He has also scored 2986 and 3476 runs in List A and T20 cricket.