Harsh Thakor
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No batsmen ever in the history of cricket posessed the swagger of Sir Vivian Richards.He simply carried a cricket bat like a sword.No cricketer ever exuded the presence or domination of Viv on a cricket field.In full flow he resembled a bulldozer on a cricket field making the impact of a hurricane.No batsmen ever could turn the complexion of a game more than Viv who could handle great pace with such ease and skill like no batsmen ever,Viv was like a boxer,architect and magician moulded into one blending power,skill and innovation at their supreme depth.In his peak period from 1976-81 in my view he wast he best after Bradman averaging over 60 against top quality pace .At time he even looked in a different class from geniuses like Bary Richards,Greg Chapell or Majid Khan.In 1977-78 he averaged 86.2 in WSC supertests a year after he aggregated a record 829 run sat an average of 118.42 in the previous English summer.Few batsmen ever simply blazed awy like Sir Viv who looked like galleon in full sail.Viv did not posess the technical correctness of Boycott ,Greg Chappell or Gavaskar but was still morally the best batsmen of his era.Viv dominated the cricket world for 2 decades at the top when arguably standard of test cricket had reached it's highest zenith.No batsmen could treat great pace with the disdain Viv did who tread their deliveries like playing with toys.Viv intimidated opposing bowlers more than any batsmen ever often reminiscent of a swordsman piercing flesh.I find it had envisaging even Bradman surpassing Viv's batting in the English summer of 1976 which was hard for even metaphors to describe.It is worth reading how Imran Khan and Denis Lille described the experience of bowling to Viv.
Arguably Viv was the best O.D.I.batsmen of all time as he won and turned games more consistently than Tendulkar,often resembling a stem roller mowing grass.No doubt Tendulkar had greater longevity and many more centuries but did not equal Viv's average impact in games,particularly in finals.I find it hard visualizing Bradman surpassing Viv in One day Cricket.At his best in O.D.I
s Viv took cricketing genius to it' supreme depth.Debatably no batsmen ever could have surpased his unbeaten 189 at Old Trafford in 1984 or his unbeaten 153 at Melbourne in 1979-80.Viv's strokes simply had the flow of the waves of an Ocean .Significantly in term sof ratio Viv was the best winner of man of the match awards of all batsmen in ODI cricket.
Statistically overall Viv would rank below the likes of Bradman,Tendulkar,Lara,Gavaskar,Sobers ,Hammond,Hobbs ,Hutton or even Greg Chappell in test cricket but the game is not only about figures.Adding O.D.I. statistics Viv would be considerably boosted but still aggregate well below Sachin.At their best I doubt even Sobers and Tendulkar were as majestic as Viv or debatably even Bradman in terms of domination.Hard to envisage Bradman equal Viv's decimation of the likes of Dennis Lillee in WSC supertests in 1977-78 or when scoring a century of a mere 56 balls against England at Antigua in 1986.I back Viv to have overshadowed Bradman in the bodyline series.Considering the difference in fielding standards and improvement in bowling I doubt Bradman would have surpassed Viv's batting strike rate with his phenomenal impetuosity.Bradman had better technique and concentration but did not posess Viv's reflexes and eye.Overall where the Don would win was his considerably greater consistency and supremacy over other stars of his day.Even if Viv may have overshadowed Bradman at his best consistently or overall Bradman would rate ahead even if he played in the 1970's and 80's.Arguably Viv may not make the all-time test world xi with the like sof Lara and Tendulkar edging him by a whisker.Still I rank him a better match-winner than any batsmen after Bradman and amongst the 5 best match-winners amongst all cricketers.
What may go against Viv in comparison to the Don was his relative inconsistency in the later part of his career and his being challenged for the spot of supremacy.Like Bradman Viv was not fully tested in a crisis.He also was not so accomplished against great spin bowling.Viv also never faced his the great pace attack of West Indies.Viv never proved himself on wet or bad pitches as Jack Hobbs nor equalled Tendulkar's longevity of supremacy or pressure faced. Overall combining test cricket and O.D.I.performances as a batsmen I would rank Viv as a batsmen just behind Bradman,Hobbs and Tendulkar and as a cricketer behind just Bradman,Grace,Sobers,Hobbs ,Warne and Tendulkar.He was behind Tendulkar by only a whisker.Thus tentatively the 7th best cricketer and fourth best batsmen of all -time.
Quoting Sycld Berry:
"Nobody has batted like Richards either. Sure, a few batsmen since his day have hit the ball as hard or harder, like Matthew Hayden or Adam Gilchrist. But nobody has proclaimed such a message as Richards did when he hit the ball. His batting was all power and dominance - his mental power, and the power of an awesomely muscular yet athletic 5' 10" body; and his dominance of the opposition, if not from the moment he made his grand entrance, then from the first ball, when he planted his front foot down the pitch and outside off stump and whipped it through midwicket for four. By the second ball of a Viv Richards innings, if not before, there were few teams who did not recognise that in their midst was a Master."
"Richards has to rank among the half dozen greatest cricketers of all time. It is not a matter of statistics, although his Test average of 50 was fine enough. It is a matter of what he did with his power and dominance. He not only led West Indies' domination of Test and one-day cricket in the eighties, as invincible captain in the second half of the decade or as the vice-captain, No. 3 batsman and figurehead of Clive Lloyd's side, he also empowered the teams he played for to an extent that has not been sufficiently appreciated. Ask this question about every cricketer you admire: did he leave the teams he represented stronger than when he started? Richards did so, which is why he won my vote ahead of Sir Garfield Sobers as one of the Five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. Sobers was the finer cricketer, no doubt the finest all-round cricketer ever. But Richards had the greater impact, greater even than Lloyd or Sir Frank Worrell, who were his forerunners. "
Quoting an article in ezine in 2012 by Chirag Naiknavare below:
"Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was probably the most destructive batsman of all time. He played his pulverizing shots against the best bowlers of his time and smashed them into submission. Viv Richards made his test debut in 1974, and was immediately recognized as a brilliant fielder. Along with being a deceptive off break bowler, the man was easily the most devastating batsman of all time. His batting gained an aura because of his arrogant and aggressive presence on the field and his swagger while he was walking while batting. This clearly told the opponents that the King was here and they had better watch out. The term "master blaster" was coined to describe Viv Richards. He played 121 test matches and scored 8540 runs, an average of 50.23 with 24 centuries. He still holds the record for the fastest test century ever, which he scored in 56 balls against UK during their 1986 tour of West Indies. He was also a member of the famous West Indies team of the 1970s, which won the first two one-day International World Cups. His batting style and versatility as a fielder and a part time bowler made him an ideal one-day player. He scored his runs in one-day internationals with an average of 47 and a strike rate of 96. He also picked up more than 100 wickets in one-dayers. In 2002, Wisden adjudged him as the greatest ODI batsman of all time. He was also the most successful West Indian captain of all time and never lost a test series as captain."
"In 1976, West Indies was to visit England for a much awaited test series. The England captain at that time in a bravado stated in the media that he would make the West Indies team grovel with misery. Grovel is a term associated with slavery and the statement did not go down well with the public, media and least of all, the West Indies cricket team. What followed that statement made history as the West Indies annihilated the English team with their four prong pace attack led by Michael Holding and Viv was at his devastating best. He scored more than 1000 runs in the series with a magnificent 291 at Oval to finish things off. West Indies won the series 3-0 and Tony Grieg said later that it was he who felt like groveling off the field. In my opinion, Viv was the best batsman ever against genuine fast bowling and he displayed almost contempt against the best of them, such as Imran Khan and Dennis Lille while hooking and pulling their short pitch stuff with tremendous power. Remember these were the times when helmets were yet to come and eventually when they did arrive, Richards refused to wear them saying he did not need them. Viv Richards retired in 1991 from both forms of international cricket. If you ask any cricketer from his generation who was the greatest batsman of all time, he will invariably say it was Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards."
"Don Bradman is rated by most as the greatest batsman of all time. He holds a record that can be considered as the greatest sporting achievement in any sport. No prizes for guessing it right; his test match batting average was 99.96. Bradman scored 29 hundreds in 52 matches. That is a hundred every other match, actually, which is unbelievable. For another unbelievable record he hit 12 double hundreds out of the 29. He even hit three double hundreds in a single test series against the archenemy England in 1930. He made centuries in six test matches on the trot. He is also the fastest ever to reach 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 and 6000 runs in test cricket. He fell short of 7000 runs by four runs. This was, incidentally, due to that failure in his last test appearance, when he fell for a duck and came back to the pavilion half laughing due to the irony.
The only test series where he performed below par was the much maligned bodyline series. In a 1931 visit to Australia, the English captain Douglas Jardine designed a technique called bodyline, primarily for stopping the run machine called Don Bradman. Working on an observation made during a Bradman inning in England, he decided to attack Bradman with short pitch bowling. He, along with selectors, picked three fast bowlers for the tour down under led by Harold Larwood and Bill Voce. This tactic worked well against the Aussies and Bradman. Although Bradman did hit a single hundred to set up an Australian win, they won just that single test match in the series. Aussies were routed in the series. Bradman's batting style changed forever. There was a huge uproar about tactic and a lot has been written about it. However, when I try to imagine Viv Richards in the Don's shoes I feel the tactic would have failed. Viv would have probably hit half the short pitched stuff in the stands. This is conjecture of course, but food for thought nevertheless. This weakness against short pitched bowling is the only flaw one can find in Bradman's repertoire."
VIV'S RECORDS COMPILED FROM S.RAJESH.
ODI statistics
Richards' style of batting suited one-day cricket perfectly. He set himself apart from the rest of the top batsmen of his era with his exceptionally quick scoring in a period where the average rate was much lower. The table below compares the strike rates of top batsmen between 1975 and 1991. Richards was by far the most dominant of the lot, and among players to have scored more than 2000 runs in ODIs, he still remains the only batsman to average more than 40 and possess a strike rate of over 90.
Comparison of strike rates of top batsmen between 1975 and 1991 (Qual: 4000 runs) Batsman Matches Runs Average Strike rate % better than average SR for period (65.92)
Viv Richards 187 6721 47.00 90.20 36.83
Dean Jones 120 4690 48.85 75.07 13.88
Allan Border 228 5766 31.68 70.26 6.58
Javed Miandad 180 5795 41.69 68.16 3.39
Gordon Greenidge 128 5134 45.03 64.92 -1.51
Richards played 187 ODIs in all, but only 33 of those were in the West Indies. On the other hand, he played more than twice that number in Australia, where he scored 2769 runs in 73 matches. He was by far the finest overseas batsman in Australia between 1975 and 1991.
ODI Performance of overseas batsmen in Australia (1975-1991) Player Matches Innings Runs Average Strike rate 100s 50s
Viv Richards 73 67 2769 44.66 84.54 3 24
Desmond Haynes 76 75 2459 35.63 60.32 4 17
Gordon Greenidge 43 43 1731 43.27 64.51 3 12
John Wright 57 57 1541 27.51 53.78 0 12
Javed Miandad 45 44 1390 33.90 59.40 0 10
David Gower 42 41 1248 32.84 84.32 4 3
Throughout his ODI career, Richards was the man for the big occasion. He scored a brilliant unbeaten 138 in the 1979 World Cup final, and played several crucial knocks on major occasions. His overall ODI record and performance in World Cups and finals is summarised below. He averages the highest among batsmen who have scored over 1000 runs in World Cup matches.
Viv Richards' ODI record Matches Innings Runs Average 100 50
Overall 187 167 6721 47.00 11 45
World Cup 23 21 1013 63.31 3 5
Australian tri-series 65 60 2563 46.60 3 22
Tournament finals 18 17 836 55.73 1 9
In the 1984 series against England, Richards made an extraordinary unbeaten 189 out of a total of 272, which is still the highest percentage contribution to a completed team innings. He shared a last-wicket stand of 106 with Michael Holding, which is a record for the 10th wicket. In fact, West Indies did not lose a single ODI when Richards scored a century.
While batting was clearly his best suit, Richards was also a more-than-useful contributor with the ball, especially in ODIs. He picked up 99 wickets at an average of 32.05 and an economy rate of 4.43; against India his 33 wickets came at fewer than 20 runs apiece. In 1987 against New Zealand, he became the first player to score a century and pick up four wickets in an ODI.
Richards has the astonishing record of winning 31 Man-of-the-Match awards in just 187 games, which is one award every six games, easily the highest among all players to win more than 25 awards. The table below summarises this record for the top players and clearly establishes Richards as one of the greatest match-winners in ODIs.
Players with the best rate of MoM awards in ODIs (Qual: 25 MoM awards) Player Total Matches MoM awards Matches per award
Viv Richards 187 31 6.03
Sachin Tendulkar 442 61 7.24
Saeed Anwar 247 28 8.82
Nathan Astle 223 25 8.92
Sanath Jayasuriya 444 48 9.25
Arguably Viv was the best O.D.I.batsmen of all time as he won and turned games more consistently than Tendulkar,often resembling a stem roller mowing grass.No doubt Tendulkar had greater longevity and many more centuries but did not equal Viv's average impact in games,particularly in finals.I find it hard visualizing Bradman surpassing Viv in One day Cricket.At his best in O.D.I
s Viv took cricketing genius to it' supreme depth.Debatably no batsmen ever could have surpased his unbeaten 189 at Old Trafford in 1984 or his unbeaten 153 at Melbourne in 1979-80.Viv's strokes simply had the flow of the waves of an Ocean .Significantly in term sof ratio Viv was the best winner of man of the match awards of all batsmen in ODI cricket.
Statistically overall Viv would rank below the likes of Bradman,Tendulkar,Lara,Gavaskar,Sobers ,Hammond,Hobbs ,Hutton or even Greg Chappell in test cricket but the game is not only about figures.Adding O.D.I. statistics Viv would be considerably boosted but still aggregate well below Sachin.At their best I doubt even Sobers and Tendulkar were as majestic as Viv or debatably even Bradman in terms of domination.Hard to envisage Bradman equal Viv's decimation of the likes of Dennis Lillee in WSC supertests in 1977-78 or when scoring a century of a mere 56 balls against England at Antigua in 1986.I back Viv to have overshadowed Bradman in the bodyline series.Considering the difference in fielding standards and improvement in bowling I doubt Bradman would have surpassed Viv's batting strike rate with his phenomenal impetuosity.Bradman had better technique and concentration but did not posess Viv's reflexes and eye.Overall where the Don would win was his considerably greater consistency and supremacy over other stars of his day.Even if Viv may have overshadowed Bradman at his best consistently or overall Bradman would rate ahead even if he played in the 1970's and 80's.Arguably Viv may not make the all-time test world xi with the like sof Lara and Tendulkar edging him by a whisker.Still I rank him a better match-winner than any batsmen after Bradman and amongst the 5 best match-winners amongst all cricketers.
What may go against Viv in comparison to the Don was his relative inconsistency in the later part of his career and his being challenged for the spot of supremacy.Like Bradman Viv was not fully tested in a crisis.He also was not so accomplished against great spin bowling.Viv also never faced his the great pace attack of West Indies.Viv never proved himself on wet or bad pitches as Jack Hobbs nor equalled Tendulkar's longevity of supremacy or pressure faced. Overall combining test cricket and O.D.I.performances as a batsmen I would rank Viv as a batsmen just behind Bradman,Hobbs and Tendulkar and as a cricketer behind just Bradman,Grace,Sobers,Hobbs ,Warne and Tendulkar.He was behind Tendulkar by only a whisker.Thus tentatively the 7th best cricketer and fourth best batsmen of all -time.
Quoting Sycld Berry:
"Nobody has batted like Richards either. Sure, a few batsmen since his day have hit the ball as hard or harder, like Matthew Hayden or Adam Gilchrist. But nobody has proclaimed such a message as Richards did when he hit the ball. His batting was all power and dominance - his mental power, and the power of an awesomely muscular yet athletic 5' 10" body; and his dominance of the opposition, if not from the moment he made his grand entrance, then from the first ball, when he planted his front foot down the pitch and outside off stump and whipped it through midwicket for four. By the second ball of a Viv Richards innings, if not before, there were few teams who did not recognise that in their midst was a Master."
"Richards has to rank among the half dozen greatest cricketers of all time. It is not a matter of statistics, although his Test average of 50 was fine enough. It is a matter of what he did with his power and dominance. He not only led West Indies' domination of Test and one-day cricket in the eighties, as invincible captain in the second half of the decade or as the vice-captain, No. 3 batsman and figurehead of Clive Lloyd's side, he also empowered the teams he played for to an extent that has not been sufficiently appreciated. Ask this question about every cricketer you admire: did he leave the teams he represented stronger than when he started? Richards did so, which is why he won my vote ahead of Sir Garfield Sobers as one of the Five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. Sobers was the finer cricketer, no doubt the finest all-round cricketer ever. But Richards had the greater impact, greater even than Lloyd or Sir Frank Worrell, who were his forerunners. "
Quoting an article in ezine in 2012 by Chirag Naiknavare below:
"Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was probably the most destructive batsman of all time. He played his pulverizing shots against the best bowlers of his time and smashed them into submission. Viv Richards made his test debut in 1974, and was immediately recognized as a brilliant fielder. Along with being a deceptive off break bowler, the man was easily the most devastating batsman of all time. His batting gained an aura because of his arrogant and aggressive presence on the field and his swagger while he was walking while batting. This clearly told the opponents that the King was here and they had better watch out. The term "master blaster" was coined to describe Viv Richards. He played 121 test matches and scored 8540 runs, an average of 50.23 with 24 centuries. He still holds the record for the fastest test century ever, which he scored in 56 balls against UK during their 1986 tour of West Indies. He was also a member of the famous West Indies team of the 1970s, which won the first two one-day International World Cups. His batting style and versatility as a fielder and a part time bowler made him an ideal one-day player. He scored his runs in one-day internationals with an average of 47 and a strike rate of 96. He also picked up more than 100 wickets in one-dayers. In 2002, Wisden adjudged him as the greatest ODI batsman of all time. He was also the most successful West Indian captain of all time and never lost a test series as captain."
"In 1976, West Indies was to visit England for a much awaited test series. The England captain at that time in a bravado stated in the media that he would make the West Indies team grovel with misery. Grovel is a term associated with slavery and the statement did not go down well with the public, media and least of all, the West Indies cricket team. What followed that statement made history as the West Indies annihilated the English team with their four prong pace attack led by Michael Holding and Viv was at his devastating best. He scored more than 1000 runs in the series with a magnificent 291 at Oval to finish things off. West Indies won the series 3-0 and Tony Grieg said later that it was he who felt like groveling off the field. In my opinion, Viv was the best batsman ever against genuine fast bowling and he displayed almost contempt against the best of them, such as Imran Khan and Dennis Lille while hooking and pulling their short pitch stuff with tremendous power. Remember these were the times when helmets were yet to come and eventually when they did arrive, Richards refused to wear them saying he did not need them. Viv Richards retired in 1991 from both forms of international cricket. If you ask any cricketer from his generation who was the greatest batsman of all time, he will invariably say it was Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards."
"Don Bradman is rated by most as the greatest batsman of all time. He holds a record that can be considered as the greatest sporting achievement in any sport. No prizes for guessing it right; his test match batting average was 99.96. Bradman scored 29 hundreds in 52 matches. That is a hundred every other match, actually, which is unbelievable. For another unbelievable record he hit 12 double hundreds out of the 29. He even hit three double hundreds in a single test series against the archenemy England in 1930. He made centuries in six test matches on the trot. He is also the fastest ever to reach 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 and 6000 runs in test cricket. He fell short of 7000 runs by four runs. This was, incidentally, due to that failure in his last test appearance, when he fell for a duck and came back to the pavilion half laughing due to the irony.
The only test series where he performed below par was the much maligned bodyline series. In a 1931 visit to Australia, the English captain Douglas Jardine designed a technique called bodyline, primarily for stopping the run machine called Don Bradman. Working on an observation made during a Bradman inning in England, he decided to attack Bradman with short pitch bowling. He, along with selectors, picked three fast bowlers for the tour down under led by Harold Larwood and Bill Voce. This tactic worked well against the Aussies and Bradman. Although Bradman did hit a single hundred to set up an Australian win, they won just that single test match in the series. Aussies were routed in the series. Bradman's batting style changed forever. There was a huge uproar about tactic and a lot has been written about it. However, when I try to imagine Viv Richards in the Don's shoes I feel the tactic would have failed. Viv would have probably hit half the short pitched stuff in the stands. This is conjecture of course, but food for thought nevertheless. This weakness against short pitched bowling is the only flaw one can find in Bradman's repertoire."
VIV'S RECORDS COMPILED FROM S.RAJESH.
ODI statistics
Richards' style of batting suited one-day cricket perfectly. He set himself apart from the rest of the top batsmen of his era with his exceptionally quick scoring in a period where the average rate was much lower. The table below compares the strike rates of top batsmen between 1975 and 1991. Richards was by far the most dominant of the lot, and among players to have scored more than 2000 runs in ODIs, he still remains the only batsman to average more than 40 and possess a strike rate of over 90.
Comparison of strike rates of top batsmen between 1975 and 1991 (Qual: 4000 runs) Batsman Matches Runs Average Strike rate % better than average SR for period (65.92)
Viv Richards 187 6721 47.00 90.20 36.83
Dean Jones 120 4690 48.85 75.07 13.88
Allan Border 228 5766 31.68 70.26 6.58
Javed Miandad 180 5795 41.69 68.16 3.39
Gordon Greenidge 128 5134 45.03 64.92 -1.51
Richards played 187 ODIs in all, but only 33 of those were in the West Indies. On the other hand, he played more than twice that number in Australia, where he scored 2769 runs in 73 matches. He was by far the finest overseas batsman in Australia between 1975 and 1991.
ODI Performance of overseas batsmen in Australia (1975-1991) Player Matches Innings Runs Average Strike rate 100s 50s
Viv Richards 73 67 2769 44.66 84.54 3 24
Desmond Haynes 76 75 2459 35.63 60.32 4 17
Gordon Greenidge 43 43 1731 43.27 64.51 3 12
John Wright 57 57 1541 27.51 53.78 0 12
Javed Miandad 45 44 1390 33.90 59.40 0 10
David Gower 42 41 1248 32.84 84.32 4 3
Throughout his ODI career, Richards was the man for the big occasion. He scored a brilliant unbeaten 138 in the 1979 World Cup final, and played several crucial knocks on major occasions. His overall ODI record and performance in World Cups and finals is summarised below. He averages the highest among batsmen who have scored over 1000 runs in World Cup matches.
Viv Richards' ODI record Matches Innings Runs Average 100 50
Overall 187 167 6721 47.00 11 45
World Cup 23 21 1013 63.31 3 5
Australian tri-series 65 60 2563 46.60 3 22
Tournament finals 18 17 836 55.73 1 9
In the 1984 series against England, Richards made an extraordinary unbeaten 189 out of a total of 272, which is still the highest percentage contribution to a completed team innings. He shared a last-wicket stand of 106 with Michael Holding, which is a record for the 10th wicket. In fact, West Indies did not lose a single ODI when Richards scored a century.
While batting was clearly his best suit, Richards was also a more-than-useful contributor with the ball, especially in ODIs. He picked up 99 wickets at an average of 32.05 and an economy rate of 4.43; against India his 33 wickets came at fewer than 20 runs apiece. In 1987 against New Zealand, he became the first player to score a century and pick up four wickets in an ODI.
Richards has the astonishing record of winning 31 Man-of-the-Match awards in just 187 games, which is one award every six games, easily the highest among all players to win more than 25 awards. The table below summarises this record for the top players and clearly establishes Richards as one of the greatest match-winners in ODIs.
Players with the best rate of MoM awards in ODIs (Qual: 25 MoM awards) Player Total Matches MoM awards Matches per award
Viv Richards 187 31 6.03
Sachin Tendulkar 442 61 7.24
Saeed Anwar 247 28 8.82
Nathan Astle 223 25 8.92
Sanath Jayasuriya 444 48 9.25
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