Vivian
Richards
Supercilious
marauder
Born
07.03.1952
BATTING (World Cups 1975-1987)
Matches.....23
Innings.....21
Not
Out.....5
Highest
Score.....181
Runs.....1013
Average.....63.31
Strike-rate.....85.05
100s.....3
50s.....5
Catches.....9
BOWLING (World Cups 1975-1987)
Balls.....498
Maidens.....2
Runs.....345
Wickets.....10
Average.....34.50
Best.....3/41
Runs Per
Over.....4.15
While discussing modern batsmen one of the first names that comes to
mind is that of Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, the master blaster from the
West Indies. They called him the king and whether you talk about Test cricket
or One-day cricket, or just the World Cup, Richards was indeed monarch of all
he surveyed. He made his Test debut against India at Bangalore in 1974-75. By
the end of the series Richards had established himself as a young batsman with
a great future.
When
the first World Cup came around in June 1975, his name was put down at no.6 in
a very powerful West Indies line-up. That did not give him much scope to
display his undoubted potential, nor was he able to dazzle when promoted to
second drop. His best performance came in the league match against Australia.
With his gentle off-spin, he took two wickets for 18 off 6 overs, including
that of top-scorer Ross Edwards (58), and then brought up an easy seven-wicket
win in an unbroken 36-run stand with Rohan Kanhai. Richards would have been
relegated to the ash heap of anonymity in the first edition of this premier
tournament had it not been for his electric fielding in the final.
On
that day at Lord’s, Richards was sheer magic on the field. He made a brilliant
direct hit to run out Australian opener Alan Turner. Then he stunned the
capacity crowd as he hit the stumps again to catch star batsman Greg Chappell
out of his crease. Amazingly, he made another super return that resulted in the
dismissal of skipper Ian Chappell. Even when Richards was not regaling the
crowd with the bat he was stealing the show with his outstanding fielding
display.
Richards
the batsman came to the fore in the World Cup only towards the end of the
second tournament in 1979. He played a couple of fine cameos in the opening
encounter with India, and in the semi-final against Pakistan, but his best was
yet to come. He also took three wickets for 52 in the middle of a Pakistani
collapse in the penultimate round.
In
the final he blasted the English bowling in a stunning innings of 138 off just
157 balls. At one stage the West Indies were in dire straits at 99 for four.
But Richards put on a rousing 139 runs for the fifth wicket in just over
an-hour-and-a-quarter with allrounder Collis King. He proceeded to hit 11 fours
and 3 sixes, in the process helping his side to a big total and a second
straight championship. When it mattered, Richards showed who was the real king.
In
1983 Richards failed in the first three matches, but not much longer. As
predictably as the run rises again the next morning, the full weight of
Richards’ bat was felt by the Indians in the return encounter. He played a
terrific innings of 119 off 146 deliveries inclusive of 6 fours and a six.
Richards figured in two sparkling partnerships worth 101 for the second wicket
with Desmond Haynes and 80 for the third wicket with skipper Clive Lloyd. This
enabled his side reach a formidable score of 282 for nine in 60 overs. It also
helped avenge the shock defeat at the hands of India in the opening match, and
restore Caribbean pride.
Richards
was back in prime form. The Australians were the next to bear the imprint of
his punishing blade. Richards blazed away to a brilliant unbeaten 95 off 117
balls, enabling his side to race to a seven-wicket triumph. He hit 3 sixes and
9 fours in a truly dominant display. Richards put on 124 for the second wicket
with Gordon Greenidge, and an unfinished 48 for the fourth wicket with Lloyd.
He did not get to bat against Zimbabwe as the West Indies won by ten wickets,
but bagged three wickets for good measure.
Richards
was on the rampage again in the semi-final. He blasted an unbeaten 80 as the
Caribbean giants completely overwhelmed the Pakistanis by eight wickets with
11.2 overs to spare. His match-winning unbroken stand with left-hander Larry
Gomes was worth 132. Richards won the man-of-the-match award in the last three
matches that he batted in; such was the dominance of the man. There could be no
greater proof that the king was in fine fettle.
Then
came the final. The West Indies were expected to romp home easily and lift the
gleaming Prudential Cup for the third time in succession. Their opponents were
the unfancied Indians who had done a commendable job in making it to the final.
But nobody, except the most optimistic patriot, gave them a chance to upstage
the mighty West Indians, even though they had upset the champions in the
opening fixture. The match seemed to be going along predictable lines as India
flopped to 183 all out, more than five overs inside their allotted 60. Then
Richards sauntered in at one down and set about the bowling as only he could.
He began to treat the bowlers with disdain and crashed seven boundaries all
round the wicket.
It
seemed that Richards would win the match off his own bat in a trice.
Unfortunately for him and his team, he chanced his arm once-too-often, and
skied a delivery from Madan Lal high up over mid-wicket. Kapil Dev ran back to
hold a superbly judged catch. Much to his chagrin, Richards trudged back having
played a cracking, but all-too-brief innings. The West Indies collapsed in a
sensational manner to be all out for 140 in 52 overs, to trigger one of the
biggest upsets in the game. Richards had top-scored with 33 in his 28-ball
stay, but he had to face the ire of fans and critics for supposedly casting his
wicket away when he was in such great touch, and the Cup almost in their grasp.
But then, that’s cricket.
The
game can be a hard taskmaster, and the followers most unforgiving. Richards had
contributed handsomely to the team’s cause but was still seen as the villain
when the West Indies just failed to live up to their own exalted standards.
Quite simply, Richards was not destined to repeat his glorious performance of
four summers earlier.
Vivian
Richards was captain in 1987, but the West Indies were not the same force in
the World Cup as they were under Clive Lloyd. "My winning record as
captain hangs around Viv's neck like a millstone. We had an exceptional team
when I was there, and it was a no-win situation for other teams",
sympathised Lloyd.
Now
the team was only a pale shadow of its former self, more so because Gordon
Greenidge, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall were unavailable for the
tournament. The West Indies lost an exciting match to England. But in the game
against Sri Lanka, Richards let loose all fury. He thrashed the bowlers with a
vengeance and added 182 for the third wicket with Haynes. He reached his tenth
hundred in One-day internationals and went on to record the highest score of
181 in the World Cup, which was bettered by Gary Kirsten in 1996. Richards hit
16 fours and 7 sixes in a 125-ball innings, surpassing Kapil Dev’s 175 against
Zimbabwe in 1983. That enabled the West Indies to register what was at that
time the highest World Cup total of 360 for four wickets. This stupendous
innings, coupled with the then all-time One-day high of 189 not out against
England at Manchester in 1984, was ultimate proof of his stature as one of the
greatest ever.
Richards
scored brilliant fifties in the second game versus England, and in both the
matches against Pakistan, but that was not enough to steer his side into the
semi-finals. In the exasperating one-wicket defeat at the hands of Pakistan,
Richards hit 51 off 52 balls. His 82-run third-wicket stand with Richie Richardson
failed to pull off a win over England.
Richards
crashed a-run-a-ball 51 studded with 4 fours and 3 sixes. The master and the
disciple featured in another glorious third-wicket partnership as they put the
classy Pakistani attack to the sword in the last league encounter. They put on
137 runs which laid the foundation for a consolation win over the hosts.
Richards was bowled by Wasim Akram for 67 in 75 deliveries with 2 fours and 2
sixes. That was the last that one saw of the great man in the World Cup.
He
was the first batsman to reach 1000 runs in this showpiece event. His record of
1013 runs was overtaken later by Javed Miandad and Sachin Tendulkar. Allied to
his prolific run-getting, an average of 63.31 and strike-rate of 85.05 only
served to illustrate statistically what a dominant batsman Richards really was.
Though
he retired from international cricket in 1991, Richards did indicate that he
wished to play in the 1992 World Cup. Time, however, does not stand still even
for the best. The selectors, who were building a new team, bypassed him.
Needless to say, Richards is well ensconced in the pantheon of greats. The
abiding image is of Richards striding out to bat in his maroon West Indies cap,
chewing gum, head tilted slightly at a jaunty angle, with not a hint of
nervousness. It was usually the bowlers who got nervous at the sight of this
awesome batsman coming at them. A more arrogant approach to the crease has not
been seen in the game.
More
likely than not, if the ball was pitched up, Richards would whip it to the
fence through the on-side. It did not matter what the line was. He would mete
this treatment even to deliveries pitched inches outside the off-stump.
Planting his front foot right across the crease, he would pick off the cherry
with perfect balance. This was a stroke typical of Vivian Richards. It brought
out the genius in Richards, a player who transcended technique and put his own
stamp on the art of batsmanship. Even so, he had all the strokes in the book –
the thundering drive, the mighty hook, the sizzling cut, the imperious pull.
When he was not belting the leather off the ball, he would deftly place it in
an untenanted region and set off for a single. He had an impregnable defence
too, as he dropped the ball dead at his feet.
Richards was
in a class of his own. It was only a matter of time before he received
knighthood. Whether judged by the huge impact of his performances or by the
sheer weight of statistics, Sir Vivian Richards strode the scene like a
colossus. There cannot be another like him.
(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email
singh_iv@hotmail.com).
The Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011
ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3
Distributed in India by Variety Book Depot, Connaught
Place, New Delhi, Phones + 91 11 23417175, 23412567
Available in leading bookshops, and online on several
websites.
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