“Sir Vivian Richards – In a special class!”

Sep 28, 2014 Sports

Colin E. H. Croft
Last week was wild! Immediately after completing television commentary of West

Sir Viv (centre foreground) leads WI again – Gordon Greenidge, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Clive Lloyd & Sir Andy Roberts at Lords.

Indies’ 500th Test, an impressive victory, even if only against Bangladesh, I rushed to London, courtesy of Lord’s Taverners Cricket Club, to a massive 72-hours special celebration for Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards.
LTCC stages these events for big charities, sponsoring schools and clubs, especially for disabled youths, in UK and internationally, with many hundreds of thousands of Pounds Sterling in cricket gear, training and coaching opportunities, operational sports facilities, and everything else.
Sir Viv’s special charity this year is St. Johns’ (Antigua) Anglican Cathedral Restoration Appeal Fund.
In 2012, LTCC, along with Brian Downing, now ex-President of Surrey Cricket Club, home of Kennington Oval, also invited me and other former WI fast bowlers, to a similar event, “World Best Fast Bowlers Dinner”. That event is rumored to have garnered US$200,000 for charity!
Last year, they held an “International Captains’ Celebration and Dinner”. Apparently, 2013’s event outdid the “Best Fast Bowlers’ Dinner”, rumored to have come in at around US$225,000! Wow!
This one, for Sir Viv, in isolation, was just as posh, polished, as well attended and could be better still!
Representing WI were Chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd, former fast bowlers Sir Andy Roberts, Joel Garner and myself, and former opener Gordon Greenidge.
Sir Richie Richardson, Michael Holding and Desmond Haynes were also invited but could not attend.
Mikey was unavailable, while the other two have more pressing business in India. Dessie is Icon and Manager of Barbados Tridents in Champions League, while Sir Richie is WI’s Head Coach and Manager for the tour to India.

A conversation with Gordon Greenidge, Sir Viv, Clive Lloyd and David Gower.

Representing England were former captain, now President of Lords Taverners, Chris Cowdrey, former England captains Mike Gatting and David Gower, former spinners Geoff Miller, Pat Pocock and Derek Underwood, and former fast bowlers Darren Gough, Devon Malcolm and Ricky Elcock.
Also involved with organization, especially with physically challenged youth, who put on a great presentation at the Oval, was former England women’s player, Ebony Rainford-Brent. Energetic!!
Caribbean’s cricket journalism’s doyen, Tony Cozier, and well-noted Caribbean-UK journalist, Sir Trevor Mc Donald, led tributes to Sir Viv, with two Government Ministers of Antigua & Barbuda.
A great time was had by all!
One eye-opener, when WI played its 500th Test two weeks ago, was that only three players, of the 300 who have played Tests for WI, were constant and standard inclusions in any “best WI Test team ever”, selected by anyone and everyone – “Massa” George Headley, Sir Garfield Sobers and Sir Viv!
Sir Viv played in more than one-fifths of 500 Tests too; 121; making “only” 8540 runs, much less that Brian Lara and Shiv Chanderpaul, yet only Sir Viv, of these latter three, was in everyone’s team. True!
Sir Viv is a winner, not just a superlative performer, never losing a Test series in which he was captain, leading WI 50 times!
With 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on the horizon, WI should be fully celebrating Sir Viv’s direct inputs into causes and effects that allowed WI to win both ICC World Cups 1975 and 1979!
In 1975’s final, Sir Viv made five, while captain Lloyd rampaged a belligerent 102, abetted by a studied 55 from Rohan Kanhai, his last international game, the pair putting on 149 for the 4th wicket, after WI had been shaky at 50-3. WI ended at a useful if not overwhelming 291-8 in 60 overs.
Then Sir Viv really went to work, athletically running out three of Australia’s brightest stars and greatest hopes of overhauling WI. Opener Alan Turner, and middle order supremos Greg and Ian Chappell were all run out by Sir Viv; Ian when well set at 62, Turner and Greg with direct hits to the stumps! Unreal!
Many still insist that Sir Viv should have been “Man of that 1975 Final”, instead of Lloyd, as even with those run-outs, Australia still managed to get to within seventeen runs of 291. 274 all out; 58.4 overs!
Intelligence, poise and purpose were Sir Viv for 1979’s final. WI again wobbled at 99-4. All-rounder Collis King played probably the best ODI innings ever that day; 86 from a partnership with Sir Viv of 139.
Upstaged, outscored but sensible, Sir Viv continued to a colossal 138 not out, ending the innings with a six off Mike Hendrick’s last ball “Yorker” over backward square leg, as WI made 286 in 60 overs.
For good measure, Sir Viv also took a splendiferous catch to dismiss his friend Ian Botham, off yours truly, as England lost by 92 runs.
Arguments also still continue as to if Collis or Sir Viv, who won the honor, should have been “M-o-M 1979!”
Sir Viv showed his unbelievable batting abilities when we toured Pakistan 1980/81. Four Tests, seven innings on the toughest batting pitches anywhere, yet he scored the only WI century, 120 not out from 249, as WI beat Pakistan for the first time ever; 1-0; in Pakistan.
Recently appointed Technical Director of WI “A” team, for tour to Sri Lanka, Sir Viv deserves every accolade and celebration he gets. Enjoy!