I can't believe Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards is 60 next week. Watching the excellent documentary 'Fire Over Babylon' this week, all the misty-eyed memories flooded back of watching the young batsman in his prime. While the weird and wonderful Bunny Wailer ventured the opinion that, had he not become the finest attacking batsman of his generation Viv would have made a great Rastafari, I'm rather glad that he chose cricket!
The first time my Dad took me to a cricket match, my team Somerset were playing Essex in the 40-over Sunday league at Chelmsford. The date: 4th May 1975. Somerset's side were full of veterans like skipper Brian Close, Tom Cartwright and Graham Burgess, with a few youngsters. One all-rounder batted at seven, scored three and took 2-32. His name was IT Botham. Whatever happened to him? However, another man whose name was new to me left an indelible mark on my psyche, to the extent he would become my number one sporting idol. In fact he still is. He scored an unbeaten 46, winning the match with a six over the marquee and into the river. He was, of course, IVA Richards.
While I had not heard of him before, he had already made his international debut for the West Indies against India in Bangalore the previous winter. Clive Lloyd's side won easily but the 22 year-old from Antigua contributed only seven runs in his two innings. He made up for it in the next match, crashing six sixes in an unbeaten 192, a rare achievement anywhere in those days, let alone on the slow Indian pitches. He never looked back.
A few months after his memorable hoik into the Chelmer, Richards was again on show, but this time in the inaugural World Cup. The Windies went on to win the final and Viv shone, not with the bat but with his electric fielding, creating some stunning run-outs. Like Lloyd, he was a true athlete in the covers in his prime and the Caribbean had found a new star to shine in cricket. Little did we realise that he would dominate the sport - and the world's top bowlers - for years to come.
His career stats aren't phenomenal. A Test average of 50 is run-of-the-mill these days, but he was an accomplished one-day master. Like many top players, he could be vulnerable early on. After the distinctive slow swagger from the pavilion, maroon cap tidily atop the arrogant head, the windmill of the arm to loosen the shoulder, Viv could be scratching around for a few overs before finding his feet and unleashing some breathtaking shots. History will spotlight his amazing 291 at The Oval in 1976 and his bravery against some of the most hostile Australian fast bowling, but I will never forget the way he made very good English bowlers look foolish in ODIs and in domestic finals for Somerset. He was so powerful with the pull shot and he was ahead of his time with his inventive shot-making.
Inheriting the captaincy from Lloyd, he maintained the Windies' winning ways, the endless stream of fast bowlers blasting and bouncing sides into submission to the extent that opposition teams moaned that they were unfair, dangerous, against the spirit of cricket. Yes, it slowed the game to an annoying extent but the truth was the side were simply too good and the rest of the world didn't like it, especially in Australia. As 'Fire Over Babylon' showed, it was the aggression of Lillee and Thomson on the ill-fated 1975-6 tour that spurred the efforts to find similar 'quicks' who could wreak similar damage.
I shed a tear when Richards came out to bat in his last Test match at The Oval in 1991. The banner saying 'We'll Miss you, Viv' said it all, and it wasn't just the West Indian fans who gave him a standing ovation all the way to the wicket and all the way back after scoring 60. England won the match but who cared? I was at Chelmsford a few weeks later to see his side play the last game of the tour. It petered out into a draw and on the last day the Master Blaster didn't bat, only bowled several overs of his innocuous off-spin. Afterwards, there were no speeches, interviews or trophies. I looked up at the players' balcony to see Viv looking calm and pensive, gazing into the distance, a small glass of something (port? liqueur?) in his hand.
The TV documentary was billed as highlighting the roles of Clive Lloyd and those superb fast bowlers in making the collection of small newly-independent Caribbean islands the greatest force in modern cricket. However, as he so often did on the pitch, Viv Richards stole the show. Officially he is Sir Isaac, but to me he is and always will be, King Viv. Happy birthday!
