Biography of Vivian Richards:- Sir Vivian Richards was born on 7th March 1952 in Antigua, West Indies. His hometown i.e. St John’s was part of the British Leeward Islands back then.
Sir Viv Richards is considered as one of the greatest cricketers of all time; he was an unstoppable force to reckon with, he was the most consistent ODI player in the history.
In 2002, Wisden termed Sir Viv Richards as the greatest ODI player of all times. He is also the third-best Test cricketer of all times in cricket history.
Biography of Vivian Richards
- Born:- 7 March 1952 (age 65), St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
- Height:- 1.78 m
- Spouse:- Miriam Richards
- Years:- Team
- Movies:- Fire In Babylon
- Did Yoy Know:- Vivian Richards has the ninth-highest individual score (189) in ODIs in a single innings.
Apart from the International runs and innings, Sir Viv Richards was on the top in domestic cricket as well. His 36,000 runs in the domestic cricket were most by any West Indian in the first-class version of the game.
His sharp eyesight and almost complete technique, hand to eye coordination and long arms supported him well throughout his illustrious cricketing career. Viv Richards is an inspiration and a university to learn cricket and handle the pressure situations in the modern-day cricket.
Batting Style
Sir Vivian Richards changed the way cricket was played before him; he was a calm and quiet cricketer who had nothing to do with anyone except hammering the ball away for a boundary.
He never put on a helmet in his entire career though he lived in the era of deadly pacers including his teammates. He was confident in his abilities to such an extent that he never got beaten up by bouncers or Yorkers.
He was a genuine hook player, Viv Richards drove the ball to both sides but watching him striking and driving it on good length deliveries with a perfect balance was a sight to watch those days.
Despite his calmness, his aggressiveness on the field in batting and fielding department was opposite of what he was in real life. Viv Richards had the ability to smack any bowler in any conditions. He was only one to do it that way in his era.
Another aspect of Richard’s personality was to respect and have some respect from the opposition. He was intolerant to the sledgers, on many occasions when he was sledged by the opposition bowlers. He replied them by either a four or a six on the next balls and the overs to come.
He always responded with his bat to the opposition. A memorable incident occurred when Greg Thomas sledged Viv Richards in a county match, Viv answered him on the very next ball by hitting him out of the park. The ball was gone in the nearby river, Viv asked the bowler to get it from the river.
Early Career
Viv Richards started club cricket at the beginning of 1972 for the Leeward Islands against the Windward Islands that were part of the British Union. Viv was familiar to cricket long before making his first-class debut.
His uncle, father, and coach helped him rise to the level of excellence that he is mounted on today. Viv played his official competitive domestic match against Jamaica that was lost by Leeward and Windward Islands; he was still the top scorer for his team in the second inning.
The experience Vic gained at St John’s Cricket Club, and the captain of Antiguan Cricket team earned him a lot of praise and appreciation in the coming years of his domestic career.
First-Class Career
In the year 1973, Viv Richards was contracted by Somerset keeping his batting abilities and polishing them to the next level. He moved to the United Kingdom that was the turning point for Viv to utilize his skills to the fullest; he never let down the perfect opportunities.
Viv Richards played for the Lansdown Cricket Club at the start. To meet the expenses, Len Creed appointed Richards as the grounds man with accommodation. He later moved to the senior club where he met Shandy Perera.
Shandy lasted an unforgettable impression on Viv Richards that was admitted many times by Richards himself as the turning point of his life. In 1973-74, at the end of the English summer season, Viv Richards was at the top in batting average for Lansdown Cricket Club.
Due to his performances at the grass root level and improvement in temperament and form, Viv Richards was finally awarded a two-year contract with Somerset County Club. After moving to Taunton, he joined some great English cricketers of his era as his roommates and teammates including Ian Botham.
The captain of Somerset at that time, Brian Close was impressed by the talent of Vivian Richards. Brian gave him a standing ovation after Viv won the match for his team on debut with a near perfect and flawless batting technique.
Controversies
In mid-80s, Viv Richards was devoted to his International duties that led to a decline in the personal and overall performance of the Somerset Cricket Club. His termination came under consideration when Somerset was at the bottom of team rankings in 1985 and 1986.
Peter Roebuck resisted the inclusion of Richards and Joel Garner in the team and demanded to end the contract. The controversy ended after the removal of Roebuck, and a stand and gates of Taunton Stadium were named after Viv Richards in the coming years.
International Career of Sir Vivian Richards
Viv Richards being one of the greatest of all times was impressive with the sportsmanship and attitude. He made friends everywhere with his skills of talking and impressing other people. Richards was equally good in cricket.
He was the first cricketer to score 192 in the second test match of his career. He played his first International match against India in India in 1974. Later that year, Viv Richards was undefeated in the World Cup unless he throws his wicket away.
Viv produced some immaculate shots and won the World Cup 1975, that was also the first ever ODI World Cup for West Indies. He considers the moment as one of the best in his life. Viv was unstoppable in the next year i.e. 1976. It was the best year of all for Viv Richards.
He scored 1710 runs in a calendar year scoring at an average of 90 per inning. In the seven test played by Richards, he scored nine centuries ending the summer season with his career-best 291 in 1976.
Vivian Richards was one of the most anticipated and watched batsmen in the upcoming 1979 World Cup where he proved his worth once again by winning the World Cup 1979 for West Indies making a century in the final match.
Viv Richards continued to play for Somerset in all those years; his biggest contribution was leading Somerset to victory in NatWest Trophy in 1983 season.
In 1984, Sir Viv Richards set an incredible feat against New Zealand by taking a five-wicket haul and then scoring 189 runs at the time when West Indies was destined to be doomed by the fierce New Zealand bowling. In 1984, ten years after his debut, Viv Richards was handed the captaincy of West Indies.
He remained as a captain of West Indies for seven years. During his captaincy, West Indies never lost any test series. Out of 50 test matches, West Indies only lost eight games winning 27 games under Viv Richards’s captaincy.
During Richard’s captaincy, he remained a controversial captain on many occasions as he had no stones unturned when it comes to the spirit of the game. Two of the most contentious things happen during Viv’s captaincy were his finger flapping in a match against England getting out Rob Bailey in the encounter.
The next controversy was him changing the striker end when the game stopped and restarted in 1983 World Cup where Zimbabwe was the opponents.
Post-Retirement Era
After the retirement from International and league cricket, Viv Richards spent few years enjoying his retirement. Later, he started some businesses and then moved to England to coach and mentor different clubs. In the modern era of cricket, Viv Richards has still considered the most respected cricket personality and is awarded an honorary mentorship by International League franchises.
Viv Richards was featured in BBC special ‘Test Match Special’ program as a senior analyst. Sir Viv Richards mentored the West Indian side for a while but left due to administrative issues.
Sir Viv Richards accepted a mentorship role for Delhi Dare Devils in Indian Premier League 2013 season and 2016 season of Pakistan Super League mentoring Quetta Gladiators. Vivian Richards is all set to serve Gladiators for another year.
World’s Greatest Batsman
Viv Richards is undoubtedly one of the greatest ever batsmen game of cricket has ever witnessed. He was named cricketer OD the year in 1977 by Wisden. Viv was named as one of the five greatest cricketers of the century by a 100-member panel of experts.
He is fourth in the list of non-English cricketers to scored 100 first-class hundreds in his career. In the voting of greatest cricketers of all times, his opponents voted him i.e. Shane Warne and Ian Botham for the title of greatest ever cricketer since 1970s.
From Wasim Akram to Shane Warne, Viv Richards was rated as the most balanced and technically sound batsmen they had ever bowled to in their entire career. Many cricket fans and seasoned cricket experts and reporters cited him as one of the greatest after Sir Donald Bradman.
Vivian Richards Stats & Records
Viv Richards compiled 36 thousand runs in Domestic first-class cricket. He made 100 first-class centuries in List-A career. In 121 test matches, Viv Richards scored 8,540 runs at a fantastic batting average of 50.23 per inning.
He made 24 centuries in the process. Viv Richards scored the fastest century in Test cricket off 56 balls in 1986. The record was equaled by Pakistan captain Misbah Ul Haq and then bettered by Brandon McCullum recently.
Viv Richards has an average of 47 in 187 ODIs scoring a total of 6,721 runs, 11 centuries and 45 half centuries. Viv has taken 118 wickets in ODI format with bowling average above 35.
Autobiography of Vivian Richards
Biography of Viv Richards, “Hitting across the Line” perfectly explains what’s inside it. He started from childhood stepping up to the street cricket in Antigua and then moving to England and identifying his skills there.
He utterly expressed his ability to hit the ball across the line that was considered difficult if not impossible in English cricket system and was not recommended by professional coaches.
There are some career jokes and unusual events of Viv’s life inside the book. Sir Viv Richards is a role model for the young batsmen; his tips helped league cricket franchises improve their strategies and batting techniques.
Viv was always on the front foot; the bowlers practically pray for him to go to the non-striker end as he had nothing left of what makes a complete batsman in limited overs and test format.
His form faded gradually after his eyesight started weakening and he couldn’t establish a perfect stroke off every delivery.
Vivian Richards Family and Personal Life
Vivian Richards Family comprises his wife and two sisters. He is also a godfather to Liam who is the son of Ian Botham, Viv’s best friend. Viv Richards’s wife, Miriam lives in the Caribbean.
Matara resides in Toronto, Canada and Mali live in West Indies with her parents. Mali is also a first-class women cricketer.Richards also had an association with Indian lady Neena Gupta who was also an actress.
A couple broke up in 1989, and both have a daughter Masaba Gupta. Viv Richards is nicknamed as Viv.the Master Blaster due to his aggressive approach towards any bowling attack.
He is also entitled as Mr. Swagger for his ability to hook the shot with perfectness and beauty. The five feet 10 inches Viv Richards living in his hometown Antigua where an International stadium is also named after him.
