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Viv Richards

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Viv Richards
Personal information
Full name
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards
NicknameMaster Blaster, Smokey, Smokin Joe
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium/off-break
RoleBatsman
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 151)22 November 1974 v India
Last Test8 August 1991 v England
ODI debut (cap 14)7 June 1975 v Sri Lanka
Last ODI27 May 1991 v England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1990–1993Glamorgan
1976–1977Queensland
1974–1986Somerset
1971–1991Leeward Islands
1971–1981Combined Islands
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC LA
Matches 121 187 507 500
Runs scored 8540 6721 36212 16995
Batting average 50.23 47.00 49.40 41.96
100s/50s 24/45 11/45 114/162 26/109
Top score 291 189* 322 189*
Balls bowled 5170 5644 23226 12214
Wickets 32 118 223 290
Bowling average 61.37 35.83 45.15 30.59
5 wickets in innings 0 2 1 3
10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a
Best bowling 2/17 6/41 5/88 6/24
Catches/stumpings 122/– 100/– 464/1 238/–
Source: cricketarchive.com, 18 August 2007
Viv Richards' career performance graph.

Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, (born St John's, Antigua on 7 March 1952) is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv, Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, along with Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs and Shane Warne.[1] In February 2002, he was judged by Wisden to have played the best One Day International (ODI) innings of all time.[2] In December 2002, he was chosen by Wisden as the greatest ODI batsman of all time, as well as the third greatest Test batsman.[3]

Personality and playing style

Richards was a very powerful right-handed batsman with an extremely attacking style, besides being an excellent fielder, and a handy off-spin bowler. He is often regarded as the most devastating batsman that ever played the game by cricketers, journalists, fans and others alike.[4][5] Richards, who was also known as The King,[citation needed] built up his fearsome reputation over the course of his career in what is usually considered the greatest era ever of fast bowling in cricket.[citation needed] And moreover, that he did without ever wearing even a helmet, in a career spanning around 17 years from 1974 till 1991.[6] [7] [8]

Several prominent personalities including former cricketer and legendary fast bowler and all-rounder Imran Khan and noted writer John Birmingham are of the opinion that Richards was the best ever batsman against genuine fast bowling.[9][10] Many other former players of the game rate him extremely high overall as a batsman. Ian Chappell rates him the second-best batsman he ever saw after Sir Garfield Sobers,[11] while for Barry Richards, Ravi Shastri and Neil Fairbrother, he remains the best batsman they ever witnessed. [12][13][14] Wasim Akram rates Richards the greatest batsman he ever bowled to, ahead of Sunil Gavaskar and Martin Crowe.[15]

His impressive style of play, and relaxed but determined demeanor, made him a great crowd favorite and an intimidating prospect for opposition bowlers all over the world. The word "swagger" is frequently used to describe his batting style.[16][17] His batting often completely dominated opposing bowlers.[18][19] He had the ability to drive good-length balls from outside off-stump through midwicket, his trademark shot, and was one of the great exponents of the hook shot.[citation needed]

International career

Richards made his Test match debut for the West Indian cricket team in 1974 against India in Bangalore. He made an unbeaten 192 in the second Test of the same series in New Delhi. The West Indies saw him as a strong opener and he kept his profile up in the early years of his promising career.

In his Test career, he scored 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches at an average of 50.23 (including 24 centuries). Richards also scored 5 centuries in World Series Cricket between 1977-79. These are not recognised by the ICC as "official" Test centuries, but the high standard of cricket played in this series means that they can arguably be ranked alongside his 24 Test centuries. Richards won 27 of 50 matches as a Test captain, and lost only 8. He is also the scorer of the fastest-ever Test century, from just 56 balls against England in Antigua during the 1986 tour. He hit 84 sixes in test cricket. His highest innings of 291 is sixth on the list of West Indies' highest individual scores.

In 1975 Richards helped the West Indies to win the inaugural Cricket World Cup, a feat he later described as the most memorable of his career.[citation needed] He starred in the field, running out Alan Turner, Ian Chappell and Greg Chappell. The West Indies were again able to win the following World Cup in 1979, thanks to a Richards century in the final at Lord's, and Richards believes that on both occasions, despite internal island divisions, the Caribbean came together.[20]. He was until 2005 the only man to score a century and take 5 wickets in the same one-day international, against New Zealand at Dunedin in 1986-87. He rescued his side from a perilous position at Old Trafford in 1984 and, in partnership with Michael Holding, smashed 189 to win the game off his own bat.

1976 was perhaps Richards' finest year: he scored 1710 runs, at an astonishing average of 90.00, with seven centuries in 11 Tests. This achievement is all the more remarkable considering he missed the second Test at Lord's after contracting glandular fever; yet he returned to score his career-best 291 at the Oval later in the summer. This tally stood as the world record for most Test runs by a batsman in a single calendar year for 30 years until broken by Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan on November 30, 2006.

Richards captained the West Indies in fifty test matches from 1980-1991. He is the only West Indies captain never to lose a Test series, and it is said that his fierce will to win contributed to this achievement. His captaincy was, however, not without controversy: one incident was his aggressive, "finger-flapping" appeal leading to the incorrect dismissal of England batsman Rob Bailey in the Barbados Test in 1990, which was described by Wisden as "at best undignified and unsightly. At worst, it was calculated gamesmanship" [21]. This behaviour would nowadays be penalised according to Section 2.5. of the Rules of Conduct of the ICC Code of Conduct [22].

English county cricket

Richards had a long and successful career in the County Championship in England, playing for many years for Somerset. In 1983, the team won the NatWest Bank Trophy, with Richards and close friend Ian Botham having a slugging match in the final few overs.

However, the performances declined, and the county finished bottom of the County Championship in 1985, and next to bottom in 1986. New captain Peter Roebuck became the centre of a controversy when he was instrumental in the county's decision not to renew the contracts of Richards and compatriot Joel Garner for the 1987 season, whose runs and wickets had brought the county much success in the previous eight years. Somerset proposed to replace the pair with New Zealand batsman Martin Crowe, and consequently all-rounder Botham refused a new contract and joined Worcestershire. After many years of bitterness and the eventual removal of Roebuck from the club, Richards was honoured with the naming of a set of entrance gates and a stand after him at the County Cricket Ground, Taunton.

After his sacking from Somerset, Richards spent one season in the Lancashire Cricket League playing as Rishton CC's professional in preparation for the West Indies tour the following season. Richards returned to county cricket for the 1990 season towards the end of his career to play for Glamorgan, helping them to win the AXA Sunday League in 1993.

Retirement

Apart from his very exciting style of play, Richards is held in great public esteem for his personal principles in refusing a "blank-cheque" offer to play for a rebel West Indies squad in South Africa during the Apartheid era in 1983, and again in 1984.

He was chosen as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1977.

In 2000, Richards was named by a 100-member panel of experts one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. He received 25 votes, behind Sir Donald Bradman (100 votes), Sir Garfield Sobers (90 votes), Sir Jack Hobbs (30 votes) and Shane Warne (27 votes).

He also played football for Antigua, appearing in qualifying matches for the 1974 World Cup.[23]

Richards is occasionally heard on BBC's Test Match Special (TMS).[citation needed]

Personal life

Richards had a brief relationship with a renowned Indian Bollywood actress, Neena Gupta,[24] with whom he has a daughter Masaba (born: 1989).[25]

Honours

  • 1999 Richards was knighted in his native Antigua.[26]

References

  1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/cricket/702818.stm
  2. ^ http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2002/feb/15wisden.htm
  3. ^ http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2002/dec/13wisden.htm
  4. ^ http://content-www.cricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/52812.html
  5. ^ http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/154377.html
  6. ^ http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/The-Ten/2005/01/01/1104345035748.html
  7. ^ http://content-www.cricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/52812.html
  8. ^ http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/154377.html
  9. ^ www.coloradocricket.org/articles.php?news=30&ccl_mode=1
  10. ^ http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/140294.html
  11. ^ http://content-www.cricinfo.com/allrounder/content/story/268732.html
  12. ^ www.rediff.com/wc2003/2003/mar/18barry.htm
  13. ^ http://content-www.cricinfo.com/allrounder/content/story/268732.html
  14. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/3267381.stm
  15. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2004/09/07/scmysp07.xml
  16. ^ http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/140294.html
  17. ^ http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/344206.html
  18. ^ http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/140294.html
  19. ^ http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/344206.html
  20. ^ Croft quizzes Richards BBC online.
  21. ^ Cricinfo - Within the laws but against the spirit
  22. ^ http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/rules/code-of-conduct-for-players-and-officials.pdf
  23. ^ "Master blaster". Guardian Limited. 2007-06-03. Retrieved 2007-07-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Vimla Patil Saans: A breath of fresh air The Tribune - February 28, 1999
  25. ^ Nandakumar Marar Sania is an icon for Indian sport: Masaba The Hindu - February 24, 2005
  26. ^ http://content-www.cricinfo.com/westindies/content/story/80473.html

Template:West Indian batsman with a Test batting average over 50

Preceded by West Indies Test cricket captains
1980-1991 		Succeeded by
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