Special Happy Birthday to Sir Vivian Richards
Today we send birthday greetings to one of our icons – as we wish Sir Viv Richards a Happy 68th Birthday. The man rated among the Top Five players of all time was born on this day in 1952 in Antigua. He represented Antigua and Barbuda at cricket and football, and later played first-class cricket for Leeward Islands and had a stellar career on the international stage.
Sir Viv thrilled fans all over the world close to 20 years. He made his debut in 1974 in India and ended in 1991 as captain on the tour of England. He was the most dominant figure in the game when the West Indies was the best team in the world.
In a statemen, CWI said:
“Today, we salute Sir Viv on his birthday. As one of the greatest cricketers of all time you brought unbridled joy to fans all around the world, especially West Indians, who stood up to admire and rejoice every time you stepped on the field. You were the master batsman, but you were also a leader on and off the field. Your runs won us matches, you had a style which set you apart from others, and your strength took us to the top of the world.”
Sir Viv had so many memorable performances and we can’t list them all here, but two that spring to mind happened when the West Indies won the World Cup in 1975 and 1979. In the first final at Lords he ran out three Australians as West Indies won the coveted trophy for the first time. Four years later he made the monumental 138 not out as we beat England again at Lords to lift the Cup a second time.
In Test cricket he scored 8,540 runs with 24 centuries – the highest of 291 against England on the 1976 tour which he dominated. In ODIs he had no equal as he amassed 6,721 runs with a top score of 189 against England in 1984. Overall, he made 36,212 first-class runs and was one of few players to score over 100 centuries.