April 13 (Bloomberg) -- His role as captain in question and his West Indies team facing a first-ever sweep of home losses, Brian Lara overturned a form slump to become the only player to hit 400 runs in a Test cricket innings yesterday.

Lara, 34, batted for almost 13 hours without giving a clear catching chance to reach 400 not out as the West Indies, trailing 3-0 in the series, amassed 751-5 against England in the fourth and final Test at Antigua's Recreation Ground.

By passing the mark of 380 set by Australia's Matthew Hayden in October against Zimbabwe, Lara reclaimed the record for the highest individual score in cricket's five-day form. He hit 375 against England at the same Antigua arena 10 years ago.

``I didn't miss having the record but it's great to have it again,'' Lara told Sky Sports. ``Hopefully we can go on to win this and we can begin to get West Indies back on top again.''

Lara also holds the record of 501 not out for the highest score in any form of cricket. Former players including Colin Croft had called for the Trinidadian left-hander to quit as captain after England clinched its first series win in the Caribbean in 36 years this month.

Lara, who managed 100 runs at an average of 17 in the first three Tests, responded by becoming the second player to reach 300 twice in 127 years of Tests and then the first to make a quadruple hundred.

``He has achieved something that has never been achieved before even with the amount of pressure on him,'' England captain Michael Vaughan said. ``It will take some player and some performance to beat his 400.''

Kissed the Ground

Lara tied Hayden's mark by lofting England spinner Gareth Batty for six, and topped it by sweeping the next delivery to the boundary. He punched the air before kissing the field.

Forty-five minutes later, Lara swept Batty for a single to reach the 400 mark off 582 balls, which included 43 fours and four sixes. He then declared the West Indies' first innings, which is the sixth-highest total by a Test side.

``It's a great feeling but it is dampened by the series result,'' said Lara. ``Ten years ago the match ended in a draw but this time we're looking for a result.''

Tino Best and Pedro Collins each took two wickets as England slumped to 171-5 at the close of play, 381 runs short of the follow-on target with two days remaining.

Lara received calls of congratulations from Hayden and Patrick Manning, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Ernie Els, who finished second at golf's U.S. Masters on Sunday, also offered his praise.

Hayden, whom Lara contacted in Perth six months ago to congratulate him on his 10-hour knock, returned the compliment, describing Lara's innings as a ``truly amazing effort.''

``It doesn't matter who the opposition is, what the count of the series is or where you're playing,'' Hayden told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. ``To bat for that period of time is an incredible achievement.''

EVOLUTION OF CRICKET'S HIGHEST TEST SCORE (* = not out):
325  Andy Sandham, England vs West Indies, Kingston, 1930.
334  Don Bradman, Australia vs England, Leeds, 1930.
336* Wally Hammond, England vs New Zealand, Auckland, 1933.
364  Len Hutton, England vs Australia, The Oval, London 1938.
365* Garfield Sobers, West Indies, vs. Pakistan, Kingston, 1958.
375  Brian Lara, West Indies vs England, Antigua, 1994.
380  Matthew Hayden, Australia vs Zimbabwe, Perth, 2003.
400* Brian Lara, West Indies vs England, Antigua, 1994.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Baynes in Sydney dbaynes@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 13, 2004 00:00 EDT