Is Mulder's decision to let legends lie an admirable act of sportsmanship or folly?

Wiaan Mulder's decision to declare with his own score on 367 not out in the second Test against Zimbabwe seemed to be a selfless act. But was it wise?

- By Craig Ray

Wiaan Mulder's decision to deprive himself of the chance of holding the batting record for the highest individual score in Test cricket appears to be one of the greatest acts of sportsmanship of all time.

Mulder forfeited his chance of making history when he declared with his score on 367, out of respect for Brian Lara. "I thought we had had enough and we needed to bowl," Mulder said after the match.

"Secondly, Brian Lara is a legend. He got 401, or whatever it was [400], against England. For someone of that stature to keep that record is pretty special.

"If I get the chance again, I would probably do the same thing. Speaking to Shuks [coach Shukri Conrad], he said to me: 'Listen, let the legends keep the really big scores.'

"You never know what my fate is or what's destined for me, but I think Brian Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be."

A part of me loves this because, apart from my personal belief that Lara is the greatest batter I have ever seen, it shows that Mulder has a sense of history about the game. But there is also some disappointment for Mulder. Did he really think he was not worthy to take the record by stepping back to leave it for the "legends"? He might still go on to be a legend, yet is unlikely to get the chance to come so close to 400 again.

There has been much debate about the decision, and many comments on a wide array of traditional and social media platforms have suggested that Zimbabwe are so weak that there would always be an asterisk next to Mulder's name had he broken the record. I understand the sentiment, but when Lara set his record of 400 not out in Antigua against England in 2004, he was batting on a flat, lifeless pitch that gave little to no assistance to the bowlers.