Name:

Richards, Vivian Sir

Nickname:

Smoking Joe

Date of Birth:

07 Mar 1952

Gender:

Men

Place of Birth:

St Johns, Antigua

Career:

Test: 1974 - 1991
ODI: 1975 - 1991
First Class: 1971 - 1993

Teams:

West Indies (Country)
Antigua and Barbuda (Regional)
Somerset (Regional)

Viv Richards: Demoralised bowling attacks

Viv Richards: The Master Blaster who dominated and destroyed bowling attacks

Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander (Viv) Richards was born 7 March 1952. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time and was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century by a 100-member panel of experts in 2000.

The man who gave "swagger" new meaning in cricket, Richards was the most destructive batsman of his era, and while there are many with greater records, few could take on, intimidate, and rip to shreds bowling attacks like he did.

You knew when he was coming. The outgoing batsman would already have disappeared into the pavilion, and the expectation of what was to follow filled the air. Viv kept you waiting... time to ponder. Then he appeared, sauntering, swaggering, arms windmilling slowly. He would take guard, and then, head tilted back slightly and cudding his gum, he would walk a few paces down the pitch to tap it while looking the bowler in the eye. It was calculated menace and magnificent theatre from arguably the most devastating batsman of all time.

How to bowl to him? Get him to the other end, perhaps. Hold your nerve, do not take what might follow as personal. Occasionally he was vulnerable early on if his desire to dominate overwhelmed him. But he had no weakness until his eyesight infinitesimally but inevitably started to let him down and those eye shots became harder.

His strengths were on the front foot. So far forward could he get that he was able to plant that left foot outside the line of off stump, at once eliminating lbw and creating his own leg stump line from where he would flick bowlers relentlessly through midwicket. Or he might send a similar ball skimming through extra cover. Straighten the ball down the line of the stumps and the bowler stood a chance, but he rarely missed and they ran a terrible risk.

His power was awesome, he hooked devastatingly and never wore a helmet, rocking back from his front-foot base to take the ball from his eyeline in front of square. Occasionally, for no apparent reason, he would block an over in immaculate fashion, seemingly in defensive position before the ball had left the bowler's hand. Then, refreshed, off he would go again.

Richards scored 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches at an average of 50.23, including 24 centuries. As a captain, he won 27 of 50 Test matches and lost only 8. He also scored nearly 7,000 runs in One Day Internationals and more than 36,000 in first-class cricket

Source: CricketCrowd Staff Reporter