Wiaan Mulder has revealed Brian Lara told him he should have attempted to break the all-time Test record for runs in an innings.
Mulder plundered an unbeaten 367 as South Africa hammered Zimbabwe.
Yet the stand-in South Africa captain raised some eyebrows when he elected to declare just 33 runs short of Lara's long-standing record of 400 not out, which he set for West Indies against England in 2004.
Mulder's score is the fifth-highest in history, and the highest of any South African and any player away from home.
Yet Lara wanted to see his record broken.
"Now that things have settled a little bit, I've chatted a little bit to Brian Lara," Mulder told SuperSport.
"He said to me I'm creating my own legacy and I should have gone for it.
"He said records are there to be broken and he wishes if I'm ever in that position again, I actually go and score more than what he had.
"That was an interesting point of view from his side, but I still believe I did the right thing and respecting the game is the most important part for me."
After declaring, Mulder said: "Brian Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be."
