Allan Border was one of the first to congratulate Brian Lara after the West Indian broke his world record for Test runs in the third Test against Australia at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Lara made a brilliant 226 to take his career tally to 11,187 runs, bettering the former Australia captain's previous world record of 11,174.
"I pass on my congratulations to Brian Lara. He is a very worthy holder of the mantle of the greatest run-scorer in test history," Border said in a statement released by Cricket Australia.
"I played against Brian when he made his century in Sydney in the season of 1992-93 and I would rank him as one of the best three batsmen in the world."
Border said he had watched most of Lara's innings on television from his Brisbane home but missed the moment he broke the record because he was watching his son playing a junior match.
"I have had the pleasure of seeing him (Lara) play a lot of cricket and there is no doubt he is a genuine genius," he said.
"I am sure I am not the only Australian who is pleased to see him hold this record."
Border replaced Sunil Gavaskar as the world record holder when he broke the Indian's tally of 10,122 runs against New Zealand in Christchurch in 2003.
He retired the following year with 11,174 runs from 156 Tests at an average of 50.56 and 27 centuries.
Lara broke the record in his 121st test with his 31st Test hundred. The West Indian scored his first Test hundred (277) against Border's Australian team in Sydney in 1992-93.
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