On no other Test match ground in England have visiting batsmen flourished as much as at Lord's. From Harry Graham, who made 107 for Australia in 1893, to Mark Richardson's 101 for New Zealand last month, there have been 85 centuries scored against England.
Seventeen of them have been by West Indians, a litany of batting genius with the honours board in the visitors' dressing room adorned with the names of Richards, Sobers, Walcott, Headley, Greenidge and Kanhai. But no Brian Lara, the batsman who, on the peak of his form, has no peer in the game for translating natural talent into monumental piles of runs.
In case anyone has forgotten, the last time the sides met, in Antigua barely three months ago, he made an unbeaten 400 to recapture the Test record score he had conceded briefly to Matthew Hayden, restoring pride to his side and prestige to his region.
In 26 matches the West Indies captain has tormented England to the tune of 2,719 runs at an average of 67.98, including seven hundreds, four of them in Britain where his average plummets to 55.78.
But at Lord's, zilch - all but, anyway. Twice he has played Tests there, and with scores of 6, 54, 6 and 5 he has failed there. Twice, too, West Indies have been beaten, having not lost there previously since 1957.
Leading a largely inexperienced side, the next five days are almost certainly his last chance to restore the balance.
No one should underestimate what he achieved in Antigua. To go to the summit once, which he did when he made 375 against England, was a magnificent achievement. To do so again, when his mind knew what it would take, almost defied belief. It gave a focal point to the development of his side.
Now, fresh from his team's success over England in the shorter form of the game, he understands that, notwithstanding the quality of players such as Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, it is to him once more that his side will look for leadership in terms of performance. Lara carries a heavy burden.
In the Caribbean, until the featherbed at the Recreation Ground, England had his measure on some capricious pitches, restricting him to precisely 100 runs in six innings . Out of touch and jumpy (quite literally at times), he was further handicapped by the finger he dislocated in missing a catch during the first Test in Jamaica. Three times he fell to the rampant Steve Harmison, once each to Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard and Andy Flintoff.
In the third Test in Barbados, though, where he made 36 and 33, there were signs that he was starting to get the measure of the England pacemen and Harmison in particular.
"The more you see of a bowler, the more you get accustomed to him," he explained yesterday, "and turn him into something you can handle.
"In the Caribbean Harmison got me out a couple of times. But I had problems with Hoggard, Jones and Flintoff as well so I sort of regained my confidence against the entire team. My game is all about confidence and it doesn't matter who I come up against, if I am full of that then I know I am going to do well. That's what started in Barbados and continued in Antigua."
Flintoff is unfit to bowl, however, and Jones is returning from injury and may not even play in the first Test. So Lara realises that the key to the game, something that will set a benchmark for the rest of the series, is how he handles Harmison, whose stock has risen rapidly.
Even during Lara's monumental innings in Antigua, it was Harmison alone who, brilliantly, got him rattled before he was withdrawn from the attack because of persistent incursions on to the restricted area of the pitch. Harmison is better now than even Lara remembers him.
Individual battles within a game have a habit of not materialising but the prospect of this will empty the bars. "He is a good bowler," said Lara, "but it is nice to see the England team turn to him each and every time they need a wicket. I'm not sure he is going to last the whole summer like that and if you get hold of him, well, I don't know if they have a plan B."
Get on top of Harmison and the bubble might burst. So fasten your seat belts, sit back and watch them go head-on. And do not for goodness' sake miss it.