The man who did nothing…. But. Review on Vivian Richards

Ruling the cricketing world for several years & making all the cricketers his followers. He is a living legend who needs no introduction & this review is just a tribute to him from me. He has done so much & achieved so much during his career but he could have achieved more - such was the talent of this genius. That?s why he is called Sir Vivian Richards after his retirement.

He was the most prolific run-scorer for the West Indies at Test level with 8,540 runs from the 121 matches he played. He also made 24 Test centuries during his career at a very impressive average of 50.23 and he also became the St. West Indian cricketer to make 100 first-class hundreds.

No wonder he was known as ?King Viv? for much of his career. He will be remembered by all, mostly for his explosive style of batting & his winning attitude.

As a batsman, he always looked to dominate the bowling and his aggressive approach with willow in hand often appeared arrogant to the onlooker. He was not only a brave batsmen but a brave man too, when all the batsmen were hiding themselves behind several body guards, he refused to even wear a helmet. This did not changed his approach one bit, he was still pulling & hooking FAST bowlers for sixes & fours.

His lightning-fast reflexes and brute force made up for his unconventional technique and he still holds the record for the most sixes - 84 - hit at Test level. For most of his career ODI?s were not in contention, so he proved his heroics in the Test matches first & then did the same in the shorter version of the game.

The great man took over as captain of the West Indies from Clive Lloyd in 1980 and he proceeded to lead a strong side through their most successful era at Test level. He captained them to 27 wins in 50 Tests between 1980 and 1991, while also maintaining his reputation as the world's best batsman over the same period.

In England, he played county cricket for Somerset between 1974 and 1986 and helped them to their first major domestic trophies. He then finished his county career with a spell at Glamorgan between 1990 and 1993, ending in style as the Welsh side won the 1993 Sunday League campaign. Richards took over as coach to the West Indies side in 1999.

Bio-Data-

Indies Cricket team.

The innings I liked most-

Although he has played many a great innings & different people will choose different innings. But the ODI innings he played against England (1984) was truly superb. West Indies was touring England & the venue was Old Trafford, Manchester. WI won the toss & elected to bat but the English team struck early & got WI in trouble. Then the great man came to their rescue once again. He made a remarkable 189* when the team could only manage 272. He did what he did best & took the attack to the opposition. The next best score was 26 such was the hunger of this man for batting. WI won the match by 104 runs.

Everything was right for this man while he held a bat in his hand. He was a near perfect batsman whom every bowler hated to bowl. All of us have witnessed his amazing stroke-play.

No doubt he is a living legend & a cricketing guru!