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76-519: Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards KNH KCN OBE OOC (born 7 March 1952) is a retired Antiguan cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Usually batting at number three in a dominant West Indies side , Richards is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Richards was part of the squads which won the 1975 Cricket World Cup and 1979 Cricket World Cup and finished as runners up in

152-579: 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. He was knighted for his contributions to cricket in 1999. In 2000 he was voted one of Wisden' s five Cricketers of the Century by a 100-member panel of experts and in 2002 the almanack judged that he had played the best One Day International innings of all time. In December 2002, he

228-596: A feat he later described as the most memorable of his career. He starred in the field, running out Alan Turner , Ian Chappell and Greg Chappell . The West Indies were again able to win the following World Cup in 1979 , thanks to a Richards century in the final at Lord's . Richards believes that on both occasions, despite internal island divisions, the Caribbean came together. 1976 was perhaps Richards's finest year: he scored 1710 runs, at an astonishing average of 90.00, with seven centuries in 11 Tests. This achievement

304-728: A first-class match, that the ICC clearly stipulates that its match type list "is not exhaustive and is merely indicative of the matches which would fall into the first-class definition". For example, the list includes matches of recognised first-class teams versus international touring teams; and the leading domestic championships (using their then-current names) such as the County Championship , Sheffield Shield , Ranji Trophy , etc. The absence of any ICC ruling about matches played before 1947 (or before 1895 in Great Britain)

380-523: A great crowd favourite and an intimidating prospect for opposition bowlers all over the world. The word "swagger" is frequently used to describe his batting style. His batting often completely dominated opposing bowlers. He had the ability to drive good-length balls from outside off-stump through midwicket, his trademark shot, and was one of the great exponents of the hook shot. Richards was notorious for punishing bowlers that dared to sledge him, so much so, that many opposing captains banned their players from

456-617: A line between what was important historically and what should form part of the statistical record. Hence, for pre-1895 (i.e., in Great Britain) cricket matches, "first-class" is essentially a statistical concept while the historical concept is broader and takes account of historical significance. Webber's rationale was that cricket was "generally weak before 1864" (there was a greater and increasingly more organised effort to promote county cricket from about that time) and match details were largely incomplete, especially bowling analyses, which hindered compilation of records. According to Webber's view,

532-554: A list of early matches which are believed to have been of a high standard. Test cricket , the highest standard of cricket, is statistically a form of first-class cricket, though the term "first-class" is mainly used to refer to domestic competition. A player's first-class statistics include any performances in Test matches. Before 1894 "first-class" was a common adjective applied to cricket matches in England, used loosely to suggest that

608-451: A match had a high standard; adjectives like "great", "important" and "major" were also loosely applied to such matches, but there tended to be differences of opinion. In the inaugural issue of Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game on 10 May 1882, the term is used twice on page 2 in reference to the recently completed tour of Australia and New Zealand by Alfred Shaw's XI . The report says it

684-516: A matter of official policy use their titles in the United Kingdom. Members of the Order are entitled to place post-nominals after their names as indicated above. They are also assigned a place in the order of precedence of Antigua and Barbuda. Knights and Dames Companion may petition for heraldic supporters to be granted to their arms. They may also encircle their arms with a circlet bearing

760-633: A meeting of leading English clubs. At a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC) in 1947, it was formally defined on a global basis. A significant omission of the ICC ruling was any attempt to define first-class cricket retrospectively. That has left historians, and especially statisticians, with the problem of how to categorise earlier matches, especially those played in Great Britain before 1895. The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) has published

836-555: A neighbor and family friend, who had captained the Antigua side. Richards left school aged 18, and worked 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. Richards

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912-468: A perilous position at Old Trafford and, in partnership with Michael Holding , smashed 189 to win the game off his own bat. For his domestic appearances, Richards had joined Somerset in 1984. There, he made his highest first-class score, 322, when they played Warwickshire in 1985. However, despite his totemic presence at Somerset, over time his performances declined as he devoted most of his time to international cricket. The county finished bottom of

988-634: Is "taking" the first-class matches to be one against Sydney ( sic ), two each against Victoria , the Combined team and the Australian Eleven, and another against South Australia . In the fourth issue on 1 June 1882, James Lillywhite refers to first-class matches on the tour but gives a different list. The earliest known match scorecards date from 1744 but few have been found before 1772. The cards for three 1772 matches have survived and scorecards became increasingly common thereafter. At

1064-399: Is a fairly comprehensive store of data about 19th century matches, certainly since 1825. Subsequently, Webber's view was challenged by Bill Frindall who believed that 1815 should be the startpoint to encompass the entire roundarm bowling phase of cricket's history, although roundarm did not begin in earnest until 1827. In Frindall's view, the inaugural first-class match should have been

1140-465: Is all the more remarkable considering he missed the second Test at Lord's after contracting glandular fever ; yet he returned to score his career-best 291 at the Oval later in the summer. This tally stood as the world record for most Test runs by a batsman in a single calendar year for 30 years until broken by Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan on 30 November 2006. Richards had a long and successful career in

1216-463: Is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adjudged to be worthy of the status by virtue of the standard of the competing teams. Matches must allow for the teams to play two innings each, although in practice a team might play only one innings or none at all. The etymology of "first-class cricket" is unknown, but the term was used loosely before it acquired official status in 1895, following

1292-457: Is problematic for those cricket statisticians who wish to categorise earlier matches in the same way. They have responded by compiling their own match lists and allocating a strictly unofficial first-class status to the matches they consider to have been of a high standard. It is therefore a matter of opinion only with no official support. Inevitable differences have arisen and there are variations in published cricket statistics . In November 2021,

1368-682: The 1979 John Player League and the 1982 Benson & Hedges Cup . Richards refused a "blank-cheque" offer to play for a rebel West Indies squad in South Africa during the Apartheid era in 1983, and again in 1984. Richards captained the West Indies in 50 Test matches from 1984 to 1991. He is the only West Indies captain never to lose a Test series, and it is said that his fierce will to win contributed to this achievement. His captaincy was, however, not without controversy: one incident

1444-472: The 1983 Cricket World Cup , Richards returned to the crease after a stoppage for bad light and accidentally took strike at the wrong end, which remains a very rare occurrence. Richards continued to thrive in international cricket. He became the only man to score a century and take 5 wickets in the same one-day international when he played against New Zealand at Dunedin in 1986–87 - a feat that wasn't broken until 2005. Moreover, in 1984, he rescued his side from

1520-452: The 1983 Cricket World Cup . Richards made his test debut in 1974 against India along with Gordon Greenidge . His best years were between 1976 and 1983 where he averaged a remarkable 66.51 with the bat in test cricket. In 1984 he suffered from pterygium and had eye surgery which affected his eyesight and reflexes. Despite this, he remained one of the best batsman in the world for the remaining four years of his career, though his average in

1596-463: The County Championship in 1985, and next to bottom in 1986. In 1988, the county was surrounded by controversy when Somerset's new captain Peter Roebuck became an instrumental piece in the decision not to renew the contracts of Richards and his West Indies teammate Joel Garner , whose runs and wickets had brought the county much success in the previous eight years. Somerset proposed to replace

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1672-528: The County Championship in England, playing for many years for Somerset . In 1983, the team won the NatWest Trophy , with Richards and close friend Ian Botham having a playful slugging match in the final few overs. Richards also starred in Somerset's victores in the finals of the 1979 Gillette Cup , and the 1981 Benson & Hedges Cup , making a century in both finals, also helping Somerset to win

1748-520: The County Ground, Taunton . In November 1988, while on tour of Australia with the West Indies , Richards became the first West Indies player to reach 100 first-class centuries by scoring 101 against New South Wales . Richards remains the only West Indies player to achieve this milestone, and among non-England qualified players only Don Bradman (117) scored more first-class centuries than Richards's 114. Richards returned to county cricket for

1824-608: The 1990 season towards the end of his career to play for Glamorgan , helping them to win the AXA Sunday League in 1993 . Richards is a commentator on BBC's Test Match Special (TMS). He participated in Prince Edward of the United Kingdom 's 1987 charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament . He was featured in the 2010 documentary movie Fire in Babylon and spoke about his experiences playing for

1900-596: The ACS had published its Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles, 1709–1863 in which it listed all the known matches during that period which it considered to have historical importance. The ACS did stipulate that they had taken a more lenient view of importance regarding matches played in the 18th century than they did of matches played in the 19th century. As they explained, surviving details of 18th century matches are typically incomplete while there

1976-464: The ACS' Important Matches guide, which have left no scorecard and for which only a brief announcement or report exists, must be based on other factors. Contemporary importance was often measured by the amount of money at stake and the fact that a match was deemed notable enough to be reported in the press. The 18th century matches in the ACS list were primarily compiled to assist historians. The earliest match known to have been accorded superior status in

2052-688: The Chairperson of the Honours Committee from amongst its members. Posthumous appointments to the Order may be made, but a deceased recipient does not appear on the current list of members of the Order. New appointments are announced on the occasion of the Independence Day of Antigua and Barbuda (1 November). The Grand Master conducts investitures at Government House in St John's . In Antigua and Barbuda, Knights Companion of

2128-818: The Chancery of the Order, as follows: Appointments to the Order are made by the Chancellor on the advice of the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and the Honours Committee established under the 1998 Act. The Honours Committee consists of a person appointed by the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, two Members of the Senate of Antigua and Barbuda and four Members of the House of Representatives of Antigua and Barbuda . The Governor-General appoints

2204-419: The ICC and the application of ICC conditions when the match is played. In 2010, the ICC published its Classification of Official Cricket which includes the criteria with which a match must comply to achieve a desired categorisation. In the section on first-class cricket, there is a list of the types of match that should qualify. It is important to note, given the differences in opinion about what constitutes

2280-480: The ICC as "official" Test centuries. Richards won 27 of 50 matches as a Test captain, and lost only 8. He is also the scorer of the equal second fastest-ever Test century, from just 56 balls against England in Antigua during the 1986 tour. He hit 84 sixes in Test cricket. His highest innings of 291 is equal seventh (along with Ramnaresh Sarwan ) on the list of West Indies' highest individual scores. In 1994, Richards

2356-463: The ICC retrospectively applied first-class status to women's cricket , aligning it with the men's game. A key issue for the statisticians is when first-class cricket for their purpose is deemed to have begun. Writing in 1951, Roy Webber argued that the majority of matches prior to 1864 (i.e., the year in which overarm bowling was legalised) "cannot be regarded as first-class" and their records are used "for their historical associations". This drew

Viv Richards - Misplaced Pages Continue

2432-639: The Match. Richards made his Test match debut for the West Indian cricket team in 1974 against India in Bangalore . He made an unbeaten 192 in the second Test of the same series in New Delhi . The West Indies saw him as a strong opener and he kept his profile up in the early years of his promising career. In 1975, Richards helped the West Indies win the inaugural Cricket World Cup against Australia,

2508-463: The Order before the 1998 Act came into force became Knights or Dames Companion of Order. The Order is composed of the Chancellor and one single class of Knights Companion (KNH) or Dames Companion (DNH). The Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda is ex officio Chancellor of the Order. Membership is open to only citizens of Antigua and Barbuda and there may be no more than three living members at any one time. The Order has four officers who compose

2584-527: The Order may use the title " Sir " in front of their forename, and their wives may use the courtesy title " Lady " in front of their husband's surname. Similarly, Dames Companion of the Order may use the title " Dame " in front of their forename (no privilege exists for their husbands). Permission to use these titles outside Antigua and Barbuda is the prerogative of each relevant jurisdiction. For instance, British citizens, including dual citizens, who are Knights and Dames of non-British orders of chivalry may not as

2660-628: The Surrey Indoor Nets in late 1972. "They did not think we were good enough even to further our cricket education." During 1973-74, Richards relocated to the United Kingdom, where Creed arranged for him to play league cricket for Lansdown C.C. in Bath . He made his Lansdown debut, as part of the second XI, at Weston-super-Mare on 26 April 1973. Richards was also employed by the club as assistant groundsman to head groundsman John Heyward, which allowed him some financial independence until his career

2736-620: The West Indies. Richards joined the Delhi Daredevils as their mentor in The Indian Premier League in 2013, and also mentored the Quetta Gladiators in the 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 , 2020 , and 2022 Pakistan Super League . Quiet and self-contained away from the pitch, Richards was a very powerful right-handed batsman with an extremely attacking style, "possibly the most destructive batsman

2812-634: The answers. In 1880, the Cricket Reporting Agency was founded. It acquired influence through the decade especially by association with Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ( Wisden ) and the press came to generally rely on its information and opinions. The term acquired official status, though limited to matches in Great Britain, following a meeting at Lord's in May 1894 between the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) committee and

2888-400: The beginning of the 1860s, there were only four formally constituted county clubs. Sussex was the oldest, formed in 1839, and it had been followed by Kent , Nottinghamshire and Surrey . In the early 1860s, several more county clubs were founded, and questions began to be raised in the sporting press about which should be categorised as first-class, but there was considerable disagreement in

2964-408: The best batsman he played against, along with Greg Chappell . Arguably the two greatest spinners ever, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne both idolize Richards. Murali idolized Richards in his years growing up, while Warne rates him the greatest batsman "for me", and overall just after Bradman. If you talk about a batsman with an unmatched technique, charisma and someone who had a huge impact on

3040-521: The book. To hit across the line of the ball is considered taboo, and dangerously risky. However, Richards's explanation of the conditions in which he played cricket in Antigua as a child, explains how this technique came to be. In his Test career, he scored 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches at an average of 50.23 (including 24 centuries). Richards also scored 5 centuries in World Series Cricket between 1977 and 1979. These are not recognised by

3116-462: The bowler, he commented: "You know what it looks like, now go and find it." Richards, with David Foot, wrote an autobiography titled Viv Richards , in 1979. In 1991, Richards published a second autobiography entitled Hitting Across the Line . In the book, Richards describes how his whole life revolved around sports, cricket in particular. Of special interest is his technique, expressed by the title of

Viv Richards - Misplaced Pages Continue

3192-431: The country's highest playing standard. Later ICC rulings make it possible for international teams from associate members of the ICC to achieve first-class status but it is dependent on the status of their opponents in a given match. According to the ICC definition, a match may be adjudged first-class if: A Test match is a first-class match played between two ICC full member countries, subject to their current status at

3268-619: The game, it is Sir Vivian Richards. I have played against all the greats from mid-eighties to the nineties to the 2000s, but Viv Richards was a class apart - Wasim Akram on Viv Richards Ian Botham who is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders of all time and one of England's greatest cricketers, rates Richards as the greatest batsman he ever saw ahead of Sunil Gavaskar , Greg Chappell , Martin Crowe , Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara . Michael Holding , often regarded as one of

3344-688: The greatest ODI Batsman ever. Order of the National Hero (Antigua and Barbuda) The Order of the National Hero was first established and constituted by the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda under the National Heroes Act 1994. This Act was repealed and the Order was re-established and re-constituted under the National Honours Act 1998, which was amended in 2000, 2001 and 2015. Persons who were members of

3420-501: The greatest batsman he bowled against. Former Australian captain Ian Chappell who is regarded as one of the best cricket captains of all time rates Richards as the most intimidating and dangerous batsman he ever saw who often changed games simply by walking to the crease. For sheer ability to rip an attack apart with animal like brutality and still maintaining better consistency then all others around. I have to pick Viv on top of

3496-717: The greatest batsman he ever witnessed and further calls Richards as his cricketing idol while growing up. Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-haq rates Richards as the greatest batsman he ever saw ahead of both Tendulkar and Lara. The ICC has produced rankings for batsmen and bowlers for both the longer and shorter versions. In the ratings for Test Cricket , Richards holds the equal seventh highest peak rating (938), after Sir Donald Bradman (961), Steve Smith (947), Sir Len Hutton , Sir Jack Hobbs , Ricky Ponting and Peter May . The ODI ratings placed Richards in first followed by Zaheer Abbas and Greg Chappell . He topped

3572-405: The greatest fast bowlers of all time and part of the West Indies four-prolonged pace attack during the late 1970s and early 1980s rates Richards as the greatest batsman he witnessed in the last 50 years. England's fast bowling great Bob Willis rated Richards as greatest batsman he ever witnessed and best he ever bowled to. At number 3:- Viv Richards; I never saw Donald Bradman play but if he

3648-510: The highest honour that can be conferred upon a Caribbean national. The award confers the styling "The Honourable" as well. In 2000, Richards was named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century , coming fifth behind Sir Donald Bradman , Sir Garfield Sobers , Sir Jack Hobbs and Shane Warne in the poll of 100 international cricket experts appointed by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack . Several prominent personalities including former cricketer Imran Khan and writer John Birmingham are of

3724-577: The inaugural first-class match was the opening game of the 1864 season between Cambridge University and MCC at Fenner's on 12 and 13 May, Cambridge winning by 6 wickets. When the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) published its Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles in 1982, it tentatively agreed with Webber's 1864 start date by saying that "the line between first-class and other matches becomes more easily discernible about that date". A year earlier,

3800-435: The inaugural first-class match was the opening game of the 1895 season between MCC and Nottinghamshire at Lord's on 1 and 2 May, MCC winning by 37 runs. " Test match " was another loosely applied term at the time but the first list of matches considered to be "Tests" was conceived and published by South Australian journalist Clarence P. Moody in his 1894 book, Australian Cricket and Cricketers, 1856 to 1893–94 . His proposal

3876-408: The innings he was again out for a duck. Richards said of the incident: "I behaved very badly and I am not proud of it. But those in authority, who were advising me, didn't do themselves very proud either. I was told to restore peace I should go back out to bat. I did not want to and was not very happy about it. Had I been a more experienced player then I think I would have refused. But go back I did. I

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3952-717: The internet, the CricketArchive (CA) and ESPN Cricinfo (CI) databases both say the earliest first-class match was Hampshire v England at Broadhalfpenny Down on 24 and 25 June 1772. At that time, cricket matches were played with a two-stump wicket and exclusively underarm bowling , although other features of the modern game had been introduced. The opinion of these databases has been repudiated by both Wisden and Playfair Cricket Annual . Wisden agrees with Frindall by commencing its first-class records in 1815. Playfair supports Webber and begins its records in 1864. The status of earlier matches, including many in

4028-527: The list. I just love bowling to the man because it was such a challenge. I regard him as the supreme player. I think we finished about level- I got him as often as he got me - Dennis Lillee on Viv Richards in his autobiography Menance Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar who are regarded as two of the greatest modern day batsman rates Richards as the best they ever saw and their batting idol while growing up. Kumar Sangakara , former Sri Lankan Wicket keeper batsman often rates Richards along with Lara as

4104-415: The motto of the Order and the pendent insignia of the Order may be shown below the arms. First-class cricket First-class cricket One Day International Limited overs (domestic) Twenty20 International Twenty20 (domestic) Other forms First-class cricket , along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket , is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket . A first-class match

4180-527: The opening game of the 1815 season between MCC and Middlesex at Lord's on 31 May and 1 June, Middlesex winning by 16 runs. Notwithstanding Frindall's reputation, Webber's view has been revived and reinforced in recent times. For example, the Kent researcher Derek Carlaw began his study of Kent cricketers since 1806 by stating: "Part One is confined to players who appeared for Kent in important matches from 1806 to 1863 and first-class matches from 1864 to 1914". On

4256-478: The opinion that Richards was the best ever batsman against genuine fast bowling. For Barry Richards , Ravi Shastri and Neil Fairbrother , he has been cited as the best batsman they personally witnessed. Wasim Akram rates Richards the greatest batsman he ever bowled to, ahead of Sunil Gavaskar and Martin Crowe . Akram also rates Richards as the best and most complete batsman he ever saw ahead of Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara . Crowe himself rated Richards as

4332-406: The pair with New Zealand batsman Martin Crowe . Consequently, Ian Botham refused a new contract with Somerset in protest at the way his friends Richards and Garner had been treated and promptly joined Worcestershire . After many years of bitterness over the event and the eventual removal of Roebuck from the club, Richards was eventually honoured with the naming of a set of entrance gates after him at

4408-410: The practice. However playing for Somerset in a county game against Glamorgan , Greg Thomas attempted to sledge Richards after he had played and missed at several balls in a row. He sarcastically informed Richards: "It's red, round and it's about five ounces, in case you were wondering." Richards then hammered the next delivery for 6, straight out of the stadium and into a nearby river. Turning back to

4484-413: The rankings at the end of the years 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1986. He was voted the greatest cricketer since 1970 in a poll, ahead of Ian Botham and Shane Warne . That poll saw both Botham and Warne vote for Richards, and in the opinions of both, Richards is the greatest batsman they ever saw. In 2006, in a study done by a team of ESPN 's Cricinfo magazine, Richards was again chosen as

4560-423: The second half of his career was significantly lower than for the first. Overall, Richards scored 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches at an average of 50.23 and retired as then West Indies leading run scorer overhauling the aggregate of Garfield Sobers . He also scored 1281 runs at an average of over 55 in World Series Cricket , which is sometimes regarded as the highest and most difficult level of cricket ever played. As

4636-498: The second innings in a heavy defeat for his side. By the time Richards was 22, he had played matches in the Antigua, Leeward Islands and Combined Islands tournaments. In 1973, his abilities were noticed by Len Creed, Vice Chairman at Somerset , who was in Antigua at the time as part of a West Country touring side. Lester Bird and Danny Livingstone played an important part in pursuading Creed to take Richards to Somerset. Surrey had earlier rejected both Richards and Andy Roberts at

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4712-486: The secretaries of the clubs involved in the official County Championship , which had begun in 1890. As a result, those clubs became first-class from 1895 along with MCC, Cambridge University , Oxford University , senior cricket touring teams (i.e., Australia and South Africa at that time) and other teams designated as such by MCC (e.g., North v South , Gentlemen v Players and occasional "elevens" which consisted of recognised first-class players). Officially, therefore,

4788-400: The sport has ever seen". He was also an excellent fielder and a more than competent off-spin bowler. He is often regarded as the most physically devastating and exciting batsman that ever played the game by cricketers, journalists, fans and others alike, and played his entire 17-year career without a helmet. His fearless and aggressive style of play, and relaxed but determined demeanor made him

4864-617: The status of teams. For example, MCC was authorised to determine the status of matches played in Great Britain. To all intents and purposes, the 1947 ICC definition confirmed the 1894 MCC definition, and gave it international recognition and usage. Hence, official judgment of status is the responsibility of the governing body in each country that is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The governing body grants first-class status to international teams and to domestic teams that are representative of

4940-593: Was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to cricket. In 1999, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Nation (KCN) by his native country Antigua and Barbuda . In 2006, he was upgraded to Antigua and Barbuda highest award, Knight of the Order of the National Hero (KNH). The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound , Antigua , is named in his honour. It

5016-470: Was assigned living accommodation by the club; a flat-share with two other county players: Ian Botham and Dennis Breakwell . On 27 April 1974 Richards made his Benson & Hedges Cup debut for Somerset against Glamorgan in Swansea; after the game Somerset skipper Brian Close arranged a player's ovation for Richards in recognition of his playing and contribution to the victory. Richards was awarded Man of

5092-418: Was better player than Viv then he must have been some player Bob Willis on Viv Richards Australian fast bowling greats Jeff Thomson often regarded as the fastest bowler in cricket history along with Dennis Lillee rates Richards as best batsman they ever bowled against. Lillee rates Richards as best batsman he bowled to and went on to say him as The Supreme player . Thomson also rates Richards as

5168-580: 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 Primary School and then Antigua Grammar Secondary 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 Richards initially practiced with his father and Pat Evanson ,

5244-587: Was built for use in the 2007 Cricket World Cup . The ground has hosted three Test matches, as well as a number of One-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals. The Richards–Botham Trophy , replacing the Wisden Trophy for winners of West Indies–England Test series, is named in honour of Richards and Sir Ian Botham . In 2022, Richards was awarded the Order of the Caribbean Community (OOC),

5320-523: Was chosen by Wisden as the greatest One Day International batsman who had played to that date and as the third greatest Test cricket batter. In 2009, Richards was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame . In October 2013, Wisden selected the best test team across 150 years of test history and slotted Richards at No. 5. He was one of only two batsman of the post war era, alongside Sachin Tendulkar , to feature in that team. Richards

5396-605: Was established. After his debut he was promoted to the first team where he was introduced to the Lansdown all-rounder "Shandy" Perera from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka ). Richards cites Perera as a major influence on his cricket development especially with regards to post-game analysis. He finished his first season at Lansdown top of the batting averages and shortly afterwards was offered a two-year contract with county side Somerset. Richards then moved to Taunton in 1974 in preparation for his professional debut with Somerset CCC where he

5472-540: Was formally defined by the then Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC) on 19 May 1947. It was made clear that the definition "will not have retrospective effect". The definition is as follows: A match of three or more days' duration between two sides of eleven players officially adjudged first-class, shall be regarded as a first-class fixture. Matches in which either team have more than eleven players or which are scheduled for less than three days shall not be regarded as first-class. The Governing body in each country shall decide

5548-593: Was his aggressive, "finger-flapping" appeal leading to the incorrect dismissal of England batsman Rob Bailey in the Barbados Test in 1990, which was described by Wisden as "at best undignified and unsightly. At worst, it was calculated gamesmanship". This behaviour would nowadays be penalised according to Section 2.5. of the Rules of Conduct of the ICC Code of Conduct . During a match against Zimbabwe during

5624-808: Was made to look a fool for the convenience of the local cricket authorities." Richards made his first-class debut in January 1972 when he was 19. He took part in a non-competition match, representing the Leeward Islands against the Windwards: Richards made 20 and 26. His competitive debut followed a few days later. Playing in the domestic West Indian Shell Shield for the Combined Leeward and Windward Islands in Kingston, Jamaica versus Jamaica , he scored 15 and 32, top-scoring in

5700-415: Was suspended from playing cricket for two years when he was a 17-year-old in 1969. Playing for Antigua against St Kitts , he got out for a golden duck much to the disgust of himself and the 6,000 supporters. Some supporters occupied the pitch and the game was held up for two hours. Richards was then given a second opportunity to bat in an effort to appease the almost rioting supporters. In his second bat in

5776-610: Was widely accepted after a list of 39 matches was reproduced in the 28 December 1894 issue of Cricket magazine. The list began with the Melbourne Cricket Ground match played 15–17 March 1877 and ended with a recent match at the Association Ground, Sydney played 14–20 December 1894. All of Moody's matches, plus four additional ones, were retrospectively recognised as Test matches and also, thereby, as first-class matches. The term "first-class cricket"

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