Cricket legend Sir Gary Sobers, whose record for the highest individual score in Test cricket (365) stood for 36 years before Brian Lara broke it in 1994 against England, wasn't at all surprised yesterday to hear that the new mark of 375 could tumble again.

Sobers was one of the first to congratulate Lara in Antigua on that April 18, 1994 day, saying: "I don't think a better person could have broken my record.'' But going into today's final day of the first Test match between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo (see page 12), Sri Lanka's opening batsman Sanath Jayasuriya -- like Sobers and Lara a left-hander -- was closing in on Lara's record. He needs 50 more runs to set the new world mark.

"That's what records are there for,'' said Sobers, who is in Bermuda to promote tourism for his home island, Barbados, where he works as a sports consultant with the Barbados Tourism Authority.

"I would think Brian is the person you would want to call. I'm out of that.

People make a lot of fuss about a record being broken or what is going to be said, but records are made to be broken. As long as people are playing sports, or any game, and there are records there, they are going to be broken.

"What happened with me in cricket happened. I didn't go out to set records or break records.'' The current Test match will almost certainly finish in a draw but Sri Lanka have produced some record breaking achievements already in their reply of 587 for one to India's first innings total of 537 for eight.

Jayasuriya's 326 is the 14th triple century in Test history and is already the highest score made by a Sri Lankan. The unbroken partnership of 548 with Roshan Mahanama is also a record for any wicket in Test cricket.

They also became only the second pair -- behind Sobers and Frank Worrell in Barbados in 1960 -- to bat through two entire days of a Test match.

"These things are not rare, they have happened before, but as long as sports are being played at any level these things are going to happen,'' said the West Indies legend who is widely regarded as the greatest all-round cricketer of all time.

"People should be prepared for these things when they happen, but people seem to be shocked,'' added Sobers.

"Three hundred and seventy five is an achievement but somebody else is going to do better than that and then somebody else better than that.'' Sobers is here along with other Barbados tourism officials to promote their island which has become a popular vacation destination for Bermudians.

"We have a lot of Bermudians come to Barbados and we come here to try to promote Barbados, to see them and talk to them about Barbados to hope they continue to come there.

"Bermudians love coming to Barbados and Barbadians love having them. But we just can't sit back, we still have to come out, meet them and talk to them and let them know we're interested.

"We have a thing called Sports Tourism and that's what it's all about.'' Sir Gary Sobers