Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE (born 7 March 1952), known as Viv Richards, is a former West Indian cricketer. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century by a 100-member panel of experts in 2000, along with Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs and Shane Warne.
In one-day cricket, Richards was judged by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack to have played the best ODI innings of all time.In December 2002, he was chosen by Wisden as the greatest One Day International (ODI) batsman of all time, as well as the third greatest Test batsman of all time, after Sir Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar.
Overall, 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. Knighted for his contributions to cricket, today Richards is an occasional cricket commentator and team mentor.
Early life:
Richards was born to Malcolm and Gretel Richards in St. John’s, Antigua, then part of the British Leeward Islands. He attended St. John’s Boys School and then Antigua Grammar School on a scholarship.
Richards discovered cricket at a young age. His brothers, Mervyn and Donald, both played the game, representing Antigua as amateurs, and they encouraged him to play. The young Viv initially practiced with his father and Pat Evanson, a neighbour and family friend, who had captained the Antigua side.
Richards left school aged 18, securing employment at D’Arcy’s Bar and Restaurant in St. John’s. He joined St. John’s Cricket Club and the owner of the restaurant where he worked, D’Arcy Williams, provided him with new whites, gloves, pads and a bat. After a few seasons with St. John’s C.C., he joined Rising Sun Cricket Club, where he remained until his departure to play abroad.
Personal life:
Richards and his wife Miriam have two children: Matara, who currently lives in Toronto, Canada, and Mali, who has also played first-class cricket. Richards is also godfather to Ian Botham’s son, Liam.
Richards had a brief relationship with Indian actress Neena Gupta,[58] with whom he has a daughter, fashion designer Masaba Gupta,born in 1989.
He is a supporter of Liverpool F.C. in English football’s Premier League.
Career statistics:
Test
Matches: 121
Runs scored: 8540
100s/50s: 24/45
Top score: 291
ODI
Matches: 187
Runs scored: 6721
100s/50s: 11/45
Top score: 189*
