MANCHESTER, England, CMC – West Indies cricket legend Brian Lara netted from the penalty spot in a winning effort for the Rest of the World over England yesterday at Old Trafford.
Lara’s exploits on the cricket field are well known, but he once wore national colours at the junior level for his native Trinidad & Tobago.
The batting legend policed the midfield along with international stars Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ryan Giggs, Heinrik Larson, and Sammi Hyppia in a holding role in the centre of the park.
A spirited second-half performance saw the Rest of the World overcome a two-goal deficit against the likes of former England greats Alan Shearer, Teddy Sherringham, and Nicky Butt, as both teams used past task masters with a heavy mix of celebrities.
Lara slipped a delightful through ball that split the tiring England backline late in the contest, but the retired Swedish international Larson did not do justice to the quality ball sending the game into the dreaded shoot-out.
With the former internationals barred from spot-kicking, the celebrities were entrusted with the onerous task.
Lara showed why he wore T&T colours with his close friend Dwight Yorke, when he opened the proceedings with a crisply slotted penalty into the onion bags for the Rest of the World.
There were saves and misses, after the former West Indies captain’s strike, sending the shoot-out to sudden death.
Woody Harrelson of “Cheers” and “White Men Can’t Jump” fame sealed the Rest of the World triumph, as he thumped in the decider with great aplomb, even though he initially was unaware of the location of the penalty spot.
The Socceraid charity match is held every two years, and the proceeds go to UNICEF, and yesterday’s match raised over 1.5 million pounds sterling.
