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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, by a 100-member panel of experts, 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 of all time.[3]
[edit] Personality and playing styleRichards 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,[6][7][8] 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.[9][10][11] 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.[12][13] Many other former players of the game rate him extremely high overall as a batsman. Ian Chappell rates him the second-greatest batsman he ever saw after Sir Garfield Sobers,[14] while for Barry Richards, Ravi Shastri and Neil Fairbrother, he remains the best batsman they ever witnessed.[15][16][17] Wasim Akram rates Richards the greatest batsman he ever bowled to, ahead of Sunil Gavaskar and Martin Crowe.[18] In 2004, in a poll by ESPN, participated in by 15 of the leading names in cricketing history, Richards was voted the third greatest ever player after Bradman and Sobers, and the second greatest ever batsman after Bradman.[19] He was also voted the greatest cricketer since 1970 by another poll ahead of Ian Botham and Shane Warne. [20] That poll saw both Botham and Warne vote for Richards, and in the opinions of both, Richards is the greatest batsman they ever saw. In 2006, in a study done by a team of ESPN's Cricinfo magazine, Richards was again chosen the greatest ODI Batsman ever.[21] Former cricketer Derek Pringle also rates Richards to be the best batsman ever in the history of Limited Overs Cricket.[22] 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.[23][24] His batting often completely dominated opposing bowlers.[25][26] 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] [edit] International careerRichards 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.[27]. 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" [28]. This behaviour would nowadays be penalised according to Section 2.5. of the Rules of Conduct of the ICC Code of Conduct [29]. [edit] English county cricketRichards 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. [edit] RetirementApart 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.[30] Richards is occasionally heard on BBC's Test Match Special (TMS).[citation needed] [edit] Personal lifeRichards had a brief relationship with a renowned Indian Bollywood actress, Neena Gupta,[31] with whom he has a daughter Masaba (born: 1989).[32] [edit] Honours
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