Vivian Alexander Richards

Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born St John’s, Antigua on 7 March 1952), better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, Viv Richards is a former West-Indian cricketer. Richards was an attacking right-hand batsman, a good fielder, an occasional spin bowler, and a successful captain. The word “swagger” is often, and aptly, used to describe his batting style: as a batsman, he often dominated the opposing bowlers. His strokeplay was devastating, relying on an excellent eye and awesome power to punish the bowlers. He was widely known for his habit of chewing gum while playing, and also preferring to wear a cap rather than a cricket helmet, even against fast bowlers such as Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thompson, and Bob Willis, so that he would be more “comfortable” (notwithstanding the personal danger).

Richards 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.

In his Test career, he scored 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches at an average of 50.23 (including 24 centuries). He won 27 of 50 matches as a Test captain and lost only 8. Richards remains proud of turning down a “blank cheque” to play for a rebel West Indian squad against South Africa during the apartheid era in 1983 and 1984.He is also the scorer of the fastest test century.

He was chosen as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1977. In 2000, Richards was named by a 100-member panel of experts as the fifth of five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. Richards received 25 votes, behind Sir Donald Bradman (100 votes), Sir Garfield Sobers (90 votes), Sir Jack Hobbs (30 votes) and Shane Warne (27 votes).