Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Viv Simply The Best by Stephen Richards Why everybody wanted to be ‘King of Cool’ . For the West Indian great, little seemed to faze him. He’d hook a bouncer off the nose on his helmetless head so easily bowlers would wish they’d never got out of bed. He’d chew his gum, adjust the chain around his neck and settle his broad shoulders over his hefty bat before looking past the at the next fool to try his luck. If I’m honest, Viv was my man crush. Watching him swagger, chew and never flinch was genuine porn. I imagined him at a bar, resting on his elbow, a rum punch in one hand as a crowd of beauties were swatted away as if they were Derek Pringle half volleys. The bloke, I imagined, could pull at will – again, ask a Pringle long hop. I’m not the only lad that gazed in awe at a man that should have been the enemy. As a young English kid, hoping my team would win, Richards ensured they didn’t. But he was the man I pretended to be when I stood in front of a mirror and made clicking noises as the hapless Pringle was sent to all corners of the bedroom. In school matches there was little point trying to emulate the coolest of Caribbean cricketers. A skinny little white kid with an upturned collar and buttons undone to his navel would have been a laughing stock. You can’t be calypso cool if you desperately want to fit in. Richards combined indifference and a steely stare that made him different to anything I had ever seen. On the pitch, amidst countless heroics, two feats live long in the memory. the opposition, Old Trafford the venue for a 1984 , in a summer of utter West Indies domination. And yet England had their foe on the ropes, at 102 for seven in the 26th over. With hindsight, that was the home nation’s mistake. Richards took it as a personal insult that his team were capitulating and singlehandedly sorted it, in what is surely the greatest one-day innings of all time. Richards would eventually leave the field with an unbeaten 189 to his name. He’d bludgeoned, battered and bullied an increasingly desperate attack for 21 fours and 5 sixes. And, in his last of 108 with , the number 11 contributed only 12 to the final total of 272 for nine. Holding and Eldine Baprise (28) were the only men to reach double figures. Needless to say, England never recovered and lost by 104 runs. It was magnificent. The other memory, quicker and over in a flash. Mike Hendrick plods in, the ball is an attempted Yorker which ends up a low full toss on off stump, Richards, takes a step across to off and flicks his Magnum across his pads. It was stroke that should be the dictionary definition of distain, picking up the final ball of the innings and depositing it into the crowd. It took his score to 138 in the 1979 World Cup Final triumph against England. Some batsmen have been as good. leads the current pack, yet he always appears on the verge of wanting to fight someone. Richards never did, although you’d have backed him to swat aside anyone that had the temerity to try his patience. Kohli, and many others, wear their hearts on their sleeves far too much to be regarded as cool. Others down the years could be inked in to the Richards’ category. Many of them also from the Caribbean, where the languid limbs and laid-back lifestyle sit beneath a sun that warms the sea and chills the blood. Cool Cats XI: 1. (West Indies) 2. Brendan McCullum (New Zealand, wk) 3. Viv Richards (West Indies, ) 4. (Australia) 5. (New Zealand) 6. (England) 7. Craig White (England) 8. () 9. Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) 10. Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan) 11. Michael Holding (West Indies) Apologies to cool cricketer everywhere that have missed selection. It’s probably one category where those wrongly omitted, by definition, won’t kick up too much of a fuss. Sir Viv Richards. One of the most recognisable and famous players to have ever graced the game, Sir Viv Richards is a former West Indian cricketer who left a remarkable legacy on the game. Widely regarded as the most destructive batsman the sport has ever seen , Richards changed the face of cricket becoming one of the first batsman to dominate bowling and his calm and assured manner entwined with a steely determination made him a great crowd favourite and an intimidating prospect for opposition bowlers all over the world. Still renowned as one of the most exciting and devastating batsman of all time Richards had an incredible aura and ‘swagger’ that he become notorious for and was voted one of the five Cricketers of the . The epitome of the an icon , Sir Viv Richards is one of the most sought after cricket speakers in the world and his charismatic performances are forever leaving a lasting impression on guests. Playing over 100 Test Matches and almost 200 One Day Internationals for the West Indies and also captained his nation for a number of years during which time he lead the team to winning more than half of their matches. A cult figure in world cricket , Sir Viv Richards was named the greatest ODI Player of all time by Wisden and the 3rd greatest batsman of all time. Richards scored 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches at an average over 50 , including 24 centuries and entered a very select group of players as a result of his achievements. Richards was selected in the Wisden All-Time Test Match XI for his exploits in the longer format of the game and his First Class career yielded over 36,000 runs and included a staggering 114 centuries. The first batsman to score a Test century at a of over 150 and the former record holder for the fastest Test hundred of all time , during his work as a cricket speaker Richards speaks about his career in and recollects the highlights and performances that led to his incredible reputation. A spectacular performer in Test Cricket , Richards was arguably even more prolific in One Day International and changed the way the game was played forever. An incredibly aggressive batsman who dominated bowlers and struck fear into the opposition, Richards diverse and dynamic stroke play led to him enjoying one of the greatest limited over careers of all time. The fastest batsman to score 1,000 ODI runs taking just 21 innings to achieve the feat, Richards also became the first player ever to score a half century and take a five wicket haul in an ODI match and went one further to become the first player ever to score a century and take a five wicket haul in an ODI . Scoring almost 7,000 runs in One Day International cricket including a magnificent career best 189 not out which was selected the greatest ODI innings of all time and he became the first player to complete the double of scoring 1000 runs and taking 50 in ODI history. Voted the greatest ODI batsman ever , as a cricket speaker Sir Viv Richards reminisces on his special career that transformed cricket forever and expresses his mindset towards the game that was integral to him becoming such a prolific player . A true legend of the game, Sir Viv Richards has a stadium named after him and has also been knighted for his service to the game of cricket. Heralded as the greatest batsman many have ever seen and garnering praise, plaudits and adulation from his peers, pundits and supporters around the world, Richards is an occasionally works as a commentator and has also been a team mentor in both the and the . A real gentleman despite his fame and stardom, Sir Viv is the idol of many cricketers around the world and will forever be remembered as a pioneer of the game. Sir Viv Richards is available to hire as a cricket speaker for any event, dinner or function and is certain to be a fantastic addition to any occasion. When he’s at corporate events, Viv is known to cover the following topics: Viv Richards. India donated 40,000 COVID-19 vaccines to and Barbuda and 80,000 vaccines to Guyana under the 'Vaccine Maitri' initiative. Ajay Pal Singh | Sunday March 7, 2021. West Indies legend Viv Richards celebrated his 69th birthday on Sunday and he was greeted by a special wish from Virat Kohli. Asian News International | Monday March 1, 2021. India vs England: West Indies great Vivian Richards said India should prepare for the fourth Test a pitch similar to the one they got in the third, adding England should stop "moaning and groaning" about pitches and get out of comfort zone. Asian News International | Tuesday June 2, 2020. Ian Smith reckons Vivian Richards would have made more money than Pat Cummins and combined in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Written by Ajay Pal Singh | Sunday May 3, 2020. took a trip down memory lane and posted nostalgic pictures with former West Indies legends. Akash Khanna | Saturday December 7, 2019. While Virat Kohli's masterclass in Hyderabad amazed Viv Richards, it seemed "extraterrestrial" to India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Entertainment | Written by Divya Goyal | Wednesday August 28, 2019. Masaba Gupta dug up this picture from her childhood album. Akash Khanna | Friday August 23, 2019. Virat Kohli explained how his wife Anushka Sharma guides him "in the right direction". Edited by Akash Khanna | Thursday August 22, 2019. Virat Kohli said he doesn't mind getting hit and that too hard immediately after he takes guard as he feels it fires him up to have a go at the bowler. Prakash Rai | Wednesday August 21, 2019. The BCCI on Wednesday posted a teaser on Twitter of the "special interaction" between Virat Kohli and Vivian Richards. Edited by Prakash Rai | Tuesday June 4, 2019. Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat against West Indies in their first match but bounced back to defeat tournament hosts and favourites England by 14 runs. Written by Tanya Rudra | Sunday March 3, 2019. The win in Hyderabad on Saturday was Virat Kohli's 48th as India captain in 64 ODIs. Written by Santosh Rao | Tuesday February 5, 2019. Ravi Shastri was all praise for Virat Kohli and called him "absolutely special". Akash Khanna | Saturday January 12, 2019. scored 133 runs off 129 balls in the first ODI in Sydney. Akash Khanna | Thursday January 10, 2019. Viv Richards congratulated India for creating history in Australia and heaped praise on Cheteshwar Pujara. Five of the best moments from the Virat Kohli-Viv Richards conversation. The Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been smashing record after record in the Windies with his team, whitewashing them on their own turf in both the ODIs and T20s. Kohli turned anchor on the eve of the first Test match as he interviewed one of the greatest legends of the game, Sir Viv Richards. The interview saw two of the greatest batsmen, having similar traits, talk about their experiences. Sir Viv Richards was considered to be one of the most impressive players of the front foot and one who bowlers feared to bowl to. He made his ODI debut for the West Indies in 1975 against Sri Lanka and brought the curtains down to his illustrious career in 1991 against England at Lords. He scored 6,721 runs in 187 games with an average of 47. One of his best innings came against England in Manchester in 1984 where he scored an unbeaten 189 off 170 balls which included 21 boundaries and five sixes. Virat Kohli began the interview by referring to Sir Viv as the greatest inspiration for batsmen all around the world. Here are five of the best moments from the Sir Viv-Kohli conversation are as follows: #1. Sir Viv's emphasis on expressing himself. Virat Kohli has been applauded several times for the passion and emotion with which he plays the game. Kohli plays with his heart of his sleeve and isn't one to back down from a challenge. Kohli went on to question Sir Viv about the challenges he faced in his career and how he maintained his self-belief in those testing times. In reply, Sir Viv said: He went on to say that he sees that trait in Kohli as wel and how at times they've both been opposed by people for being so passionate. #2. Sir Viv speaking about self-belief: In the first part of the interview Kohli questioned Sir Viv about what he thought of when he used to walk out to bat without a helmet. In reply, Sir Viv said: He went to say that he was prepared to get hit and would back himself in all circumstances. Sir Viv Richards facing the fast bowlers without a helmet. #3. Kohli saying what helped him in the tour of Australia in 2014. Virat Kohli went through one of the roughest patches in his cricketing career in 2014 in England. The Indian skipper scored 134 runs in the five- match Test series against England which consisted of two ducks, with his highest score being 39. Kohli went to say how he prepared for the tour of Australia. He said what helped him was visualization. He said: This speaks volumes of Kohli's self-belief and how he redeemed himself in the tour against Australia where he scored four centuries. #4. Kohli and Viv share a similar view of net practice before a game being claustrophobic. Out of the multiple similar traits, an interesting similarity between Kohli and Richards is that both of them felt net sessions to be claustrophobic. Kohli went to say that he preferred batting in an open center wicket against the bowlers with fielders which aided him with his match simulation. #5. Kohli emphasizing on the importance of doing the right things outside the cricket field. Sir Viv went on to applaud Kohli towards the end of the interview, saying that he is currently playing the best cricket he has ever played to which Kohli replied saying that he has been blessed to have found the right person in his life, his wife. He said that he believed that it helps you enhance your personality on the field if you do the right things outside it. King Kohli turns anchor and quizzes the Caribbean Master to understand his fearless mindset - by @28anand. Playing in Australia brought the best out of them. Find out how they relished the challenge of taking on some of the best bowlers in the world. Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on IND vs WI live score 2019 , IND vs WI schedule 2019 , news, results, points table, most runs, most wickets and fantasy tips. 15 facts about Sir Viv Richards: The Master Blaster of the 20th century. Words, essays, articles and even books do little justice to the genius of Sir Viv Richards. A commanding presence each time he made his way to the middle with a bat in his hand. A distinctive beard, a rather relaxed stance and the evergreen chewing gum, opposition bowlers knew all too well to take a friendly, light-hearted batsman lightly. If there was any emperor of cricket, it would have to be Viv Richards. Fearless and aggressive, Richards established himself as perhaps the top lieutenants of ’s West Indian dominated era. In a nutshell, Richards was well and truly the face of international cricket from the mid-1970’s to the early 1990’s. 1. The pride of Antigua: Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was born on the 7 th of March 1952 at St. John’s, . 2. Wreckage of the bowling attack: The most feared batsman of his time, Richards held each and every bowling attack in the cusp of his fingers. Although the West Indies side at the time boasted of great players, Viv Richards was a class apart. You just knew he was coming. Each time he made his way down the steps of the dressing room, the fielders would receive him with pale faces while crowds would stand atop their seats just to catch a glimpse of the batting genius. He was almost like an ancient Roman gladiator. Apart from the Australian attack (Lillie and Thomson), the rest of the bowling attacks in the world have been ripped to complete shreds by Richards. 3. In a league of his own: Viv Richards was almost like a well-illustrated book on cricket come to life. All the shots ever imagined by even the great Freddie Truman flowed from the bat of Richards. While there are dozens of adjectives to describe him, the best illustration that draws an epitome to an exciting career is by his numbers. Here are a few stats that single him out from the rest of the pack. Between 1976 and 1988, Richards played 92 matches, scoring 7091 runs at an average of 55.39. This included 22 centuries and 34 half centuries. In 29 series played, he has averaged less than 30 only on 7 occasions He has the third highest average batting at no.3 in the lineup. He is behind and Walter Hammond He had the best win percentage as captain in the 1980’s, winning 54% of his matches. 4. The best ODI innings of all time: The 31 st of May 1984 became a red letter day for Cricket and Viv Richards in particular. Celebrating almost a year of losing the 1983 World Cup, Richards marked the occasion with a magnificent century. The spectators at Old Trafford didn’t know what hit them on the day. and Michael Holding were the only other two batsmen to cross double figures on the day. Richards smashed, crashed, hooked, cut and pulled an England bowling attack comprising of , and on his way to 189. He smashed 21 fours and five sixes as the Windies went on to win by a mammoth 104 runs. 5. A tryst with football: Some writers contend that Richards also played international football for Antigua and Barbuda, appearing in qualifying matches for the 1974 World Cup. However, he does not appear in recorded line-ups for these matches. 6. An offer refused: In 1982/83, Viv Richards tore up a blank cheque handed to him by the South African Cricket board to play for a rebel West Indies team touring South Africa. 7. : Fire in Babylon was a documentary to commemorate the greatest Test cricketing nation – The West Indies. For the most part of the documentary, Richards talks about facing up to the pace and fire of and . 8. The games that people play: Former wicketkeeper-batsman Jeff Dujon is famous around the world for whistling ‘The games that people play’ while batting. In one instance, Dujon stopped whistling while batting with Viv Richards. When asked by Richards why he wasn’t singing the song, Dujon replied, “That Thomson comes in so fast, I don’t really have the time to whistle such songs.” 9. Occasional commentary and Mentorship: Richards joined the Delhi Daredevils as their Mentor in The Indian Premier League in 2013. Richards will also mentor the in the 2016 Pakistan Super League. 10. The opening act in : Viv Richards made his Test Debut in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore in November 1974. Bhagwat Chandrashekhar dismissed Richards for single digit scores in both innings. Despite this, the Windies won by 267 runs. 11. OBE & Knighthood: In 1994, Richards was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to cricket. In 1999, he was made a Knight of the Order of the National Hero (KNH) by his native country Antigua and Barbuda. 12. The best there ever was. While talking about his favorite batsman, Sclyd Berry said, “Nobody has walked to the crease as Richards did. No choreographer, equipped with spotlights and sound effects, could have improved upon his natural entrance.” 13. A century of centuries: He became the first coloured cricketer to score 100 centuries in first class cricket. 14. The vote: In 2000, Richards was named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, coming fifth behind Sir Donald Bradman, Sir , Sir and in the poll of 100 international cricket experts appointed by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. That poll saw both Botham and Warne vote for Richards, and in the opinions of both, Richards is the greatest batsman they ever saw. 15. The emperor of cricket: , Ravi Shastri, Shane Warne, Ian Botham, Martin Crowe and are among the cricketers who have cited that Viv Richards is the greatest cricketer they have ever seen. Viv Simply The Best by Stephen Richards. 0 selected items. 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