Big break on day three. It’s nearly 35 degrees, and probably even hotter by the Adelaide Oval nets as the setting sun starts beating against the back of the western stand.
Even so, punters are lining up five-people deep, shoulder-to-shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of this rare Test sideshow.
In the second net, WA tearaway Lance Morris is bowling to 14-Test player Marcus Harris. In the third, arguably the biggest star in Australian cricket, Pat Cummins, is going to have a net, too.
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But the few hundred people – a conservative estimate – clambering for a spot care little about that.
“They’re in the second row those guys. These guys are the main event,” declares one punter, beer in hand.
“Brian Lara’s the A grade show,” says another. “We’re here to see him. Awesome. So good”
In the first net is 53-year-old West Indies legend Lara.
It’s hard to ignore he’s in his golf attire, but he’s padded up and swaggering around the wicket, like he so often did at his favourite ground in world cricket, the Adelaide Oval.
And down the other end is Adelaide’s adopted son and BBL dynamo Rashid Khan, who is well in his prime at only 24, and has 486 T20 wickets at 17.95 and rapidly counting.
Lara is one of the greatest batters of all time, but surely he would be no match for one of the world’s best, active white ball spinners.
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Then again, he’s not the Prince of Trinidad for nothing.
What followed was an absolute afternoon treat for those in attendance – and the many more watching at home on Fox Cricket.
Rashid and Lara went head-to-head in an epic net session that stole the show on day three of the second Test between Australia and the West Indies.
It started with some light gamesmanship, before Lara talked through his plan with Fox Cricket’s Mark Howard.
“He bowls really quickly so, if it’s pitched up, I’ve got to come forward,” Lara said. “But (given) any room to go back, I’m going to go back.”
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Oh, how Lara used his crease brilliantly to the spinners in his pomp.
Immediately, he was taken aback by the speed of Rashid, one of the quickest spin bowlers through the air in the history of the game.
“It looks a little quicker than some of the bowlers I’ve seen out there,” Lara said, referring to the limp West Indies Test attack in Adelaide.
Lara started feeling his way into the battle, and the crowd, all-too familiar with his brilliant exploits, was quick to get impatient.
“Have a go, Brian!” bellowed one fan.
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But Lara was merely observing, calculating. He wasn’t going to leave without entertaining this crowd.
Did he ever leave them wanting?
Right on cue came that unmistakeable, big backlift. Then the whips through off-side, with the speed of his hands through contact a sight to behold.
You just know if there were real fielders there, the ball was slicing between them like a hot knife through butter.
Lara was beaten once by Rashid’s trademark wrong’un, but he got away with it and pressed on.
“No edge. I’m still here,” Lara said.
A delightful cut shot through backward point came soon after, and Lara declared he enjoyed that one. So did the crowd who met the shot with a roar of approval.
It’s hard for Rashid to be bumped as the crowd favourite in these parts, and yet, here we were.
Howard set up a T20 scenario for Lara, who had to find 12 runs from six balls to win.
It came down to the last ball, which Lara charged down the wicket to, cracking the dragged-down delivery from Rashid to the boundary.
The contest was declared a tie, but it was a massive win for those who got to witness it.
“It was awesome,” said fan Pat Noone. “Brian Lara was one of the greatest players of all time and to see Rashid bowl, it was an amazing spin-off, if you will.
“It was beautiful. It was good to be here.”
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He added: “He could be out there in the middle right now I reckon.”
Noone’s brother, Aidan, was also left buzzing.
Asked if Lara has still got it, he said: “Yeah. Unbelievable.
“The shots he was playing, he was smacking them everywhere.
“I’d pay to see him right now for the West Indies. That was unbelievable.”
Meanwhile, Lara and Rashid shook hands. A draw was a fair result but, given one man had 30 years on the other, it felt like there was a clear winner.
“It was good fun,” Lara told Fox Cricket.
“(He’s got a) low trajectory. I think Rashid may not be in top form at the moment, so a little bit pitched back.
“But it’s just a privilege to face the great man.”
Rashid, meanwhile, was grateful for the opportunity to bowl to one of the best to ever wield the willow.
“It was great experience bowling to him,” he said.
“You can’t dream about bowling to him … for me it was one of the best moments.”
