Viv Richards

Did You Know?

• Richards is a commentator on BBC's Test Match Special.
• He participated in Prince Edward's 1987 charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament.
• He mentored the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League in 2013 and the Quetta Gladiators in multiple Pakistan Super League seasons.

Early life

Richards came into the world in St. John's, Antigua, back when the island was part of the British Leeward Islands. His parents were Malcolm and Gretel. He first went to St. John's Boys Primary School, then earned a scholarship to Antigua Grammar Secondary School. Cricket found him early.

His brothers Mervyn and Donald played for Antigua as amateurs and pushed him to take it up. He started practicing with his father and a neighbor, Pat Evanson, who had captained the Antigua side. At 18, Richards left school and took a job at D'Arcy's Bar and Restaurant in St. John's. He joined St. John's Cricket Club, and the restaurant's owner, D'Arcy Williams, kitted him out with new whites, gloves, pads, and a bat. After a few seasons there, he switched to Rising Sun Cricket Club and stayed until he left to play abroad.

When he was 17, in 1969, he got a two-year ban from cricket. Playing for Antigua against St Kitts, he was out for a golden duck. That angered him and the 6,000 fans, who stormed the pitch and held up the game for two hours. To calm them down, the authorities sent him back in for a second bat.

He got another duck. Richards later admitted he behaved badly, but said he was made to look a fool just to suit the local cricket officials.

Cricket career

Richards made his first-class debut in January 1972 at age 19, playing a non-competition match for the Leeward Islands against the Windwards, scoring 20 and 26. His competitive debut followed days later in the Shell Shield for the Combined Leeward and Windward Islands against Jamaica, where he scored 15 and 32. By age 22 he had played in Antigua, Leeward Islands and Combined Islands tournaments. In 1973 his abilities were noticed by Len Creed, Vice Chairman at Somerset, who was in Antigua with a touring team; Lester Bird and Danny Livingstone helped persuade Creed to take Richards to Somerset.

Surrey had rejected Richards and Andy Roberts at indoor nets in late 1972. During 1973–74 Richards relocated to the UK, where Creed arranged league cricket for Lansdown C.C. in Bath. He made his Lansdown debut in the second XI on 26 April 1973 and was also employed as assistant groundsman. After promotion to the first team he met all-rounder 'Shandy' Perera from Ceylon, whom he cites as a major influence.

He finished his first season top of the batting averages and was offered a two-year contract with Somerset. He moved to Taunton in 1974, sharing a flat with Ian Botham and Dennis Breakwell. On 27 April 1974 he made his Benson & Hedges Cup debut for Somerset against Glamorgan, and skipper Brian Close arranged a player's ovation for him; Richards was awarded Man of the Match.

Achievements

In Test cricket, Richards amassed 8,540 runs across 121 matches at an average of 50.23, hitting 24 centuries. He also notched five centuries in World Series Cricket from 1977 to 1979, though these are not counted as official Test hundreds. As Test captain, he secured 27 wins in 50 matches, losing only 8. He struck the equal second-fastest Test century, off 56 balls against England in 1986, and cleared the ropes 84 times in Tests.

His top score of 291 ranks joint seventh among the highest individual innings for the West Indies. In ODIs, the average for top-seven batters during his career was 29.38, with a strike rate of 65.96. In 1986, he became the first batter to score a Test century at a strike rate above 150. He set the record for the fastest to 1,000 ODI runs, reaching it in 21 innings, a mark later matched by others.

He holds the highest ODI score batting at number four, an unbeaten 189, and shares the record for the highest tenth-wicket ODI partnership, 106 not out with Michael Holding. He was the first player to score a fifty and take a five-wicket haul in the same ODI, and the first to achieve a century and a five-wicket haul in the same match. He also became the first to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 50 wickets in ODIs.

Legacy and place in cricket history

In 2000 Richards was named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, coming fifth behind Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs and Shane Warne in a poll of 100 international experts. Several prominent figures have rated him highly. Imran Khan and John Birmingham considered him the best batsman against genuine fast bowling. Barry Richards, Ravi Shastri and Neil Fairbrother cited him as the best batsman they personally witnessed.

Wasim Akram rated him the greatest batsman he ever bowled to, ahead of Sunil Gavaskar and Martin Crowe, and also the best and most complete batsman he ever saw, ahead of Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. Martin Crowe rated him the best batsman he played against, along with Greg Chappell. Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne both idolized Richards; Warne rated him the greatest batsman just after Bradman. Ian Botham rated him the greatest batsman he ever saw.

Michael Holding rated him the greatest batsman he witnessed in the last 50 years. Bob Willis rated him the greatest batsman he ever witnessed and best he ever bowled to. Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee rated him the best batsman they ever bowled against; Lillee termed him 'the supreme player'. Ian Chappell rated him the most intimidating and dangerous batsman he ever saw.