The King Viv Richards discusses the best players of his era

The best batsmen ever Viv Richards talks about what it meant to play for the Windies and how they became the best team on the planet!

[@faisalmalik2349]

Never played for records...entertained the crowd...the king of kings....marvelous player

[@amitjain11000]

The sixes that he hit on Australian grounds with massive boundaries, were unbelievable. Hitting pace bowlers over their head, exposing all the three stumps, I have never seen anyone do that yet.

[@user-xg4td3gg7e]

Born to entertain. Thanks for the entertainment and memories sir Vivian Richards. 😉

[@vantheman1238]

Interesting comment from Viv on Sylvester Clarke. Clarke was brilliant in English county cricket and in South Africa.

[@Dr-789]

When sir Richard admiried Malcolm Marshal It means Marshal was extraordinary bowler....

[@rpattanaik1]

Marshall was perhaps the greatest fast bowler ever, better that Lilee/Thomson, better than the other West Indian speedters.

[@rakeshmishra679]

@@rpattanaik1 Marshall was pure man of MARS. Sir Viv was -- Saturn + Mars

[@shujahmohammed9173]

@@rpattanaik1Marshall was better than all except Wasim . Wasim is better than Marshall

[@shrinivaaspillai6327]

You see any player of any era,in KZbin,myself saw it,i don't think there is anybody better than this great cricketer, something magnetic about him,the aura or presence at the crease

[@mattcorcoran7082]

He made the opposition supporters more afraid than anyone else I can think of.

[@mohammadasim9525]

History of cricket is incomplete without. Vivian Richards. Even the game of cricket followed the whims of Sir Vivian Richards.

[@ratnamaravind]

In regards to the people who are speaking ‘over’ King Viv, Allan Border and Mark Waugh are legends of their respective eras. The level of banter here is more than acceptable.

[@kymcha]

I remember the WACCA and Viv walks out to bat. Takes his time in that West Indian way. Faces up to DL, gets a ferocious delivery and pulls it, in that nonchalant Viv way, into some poor boundary picket. Waits for the next ball with that "right on mon" look. The Australia vs West Indies series were simply epic in those days.

[@venku0369]

Master blaster, VIV the King....

[@aquaworld240]

If a person lover of cricket then he Love Richards

[@vishwanathk9265]

He is a master class batsman

[@Godplayzdice]

GOAT 🐐

[@patramamurthy]

none like KING VIV🎉❤ REGAL!

[@Bernie8330]

Understandable because it was nearly 50 years ago, but Viv is mistaken: the world cup win was six months before the 5-1 drubbing out here in Australia, not after.

[@CharlieXFBA]

@@PraveenKumar-sr6ne You're hating.

[@PraveenKumar-sr6ne]

@@CharlieXFBA June 1975 - World cup win. 1-5 series loss to Australia, Nov 1975- early 1976. Viv is the greatest batsman I have seen.

[@sanjaymahajan1594]

Yeah. Sir Viv Richards was best batsman since followed cricket since 1976. Even he is the best, better than Virat & sachin also. Personal opinion.

[@user-vn4go4wp4e]

King Richards.. What a player..

[@jagjitsingh2937]

Great great player viv

[@KAGSPEAKS]

The Original King !!!!!

[@pankajkumarpandey6658]

Richards was really very great batsman.

[@avnishrao9148]

Our older and senior cricketers of yesteryear's would get just 500 Rupees for a 5 days 😢test match and a series would be played between 2 countries once in 2 years during early 60's and until 1980's. Now there is no limit for cricket.

[@blooter6360]

THE MASTER BLASTER King viv

[@anoopkhandekar799]

Sir Viv was simply superb swagger par excelllence with trademark chewing gum

[@wobblertv8083]

The Emperor of modern batsman .

[@jothirajan4770]

Always cool temperament.

[@daveb77]

I despised Viv when he played. Everyone thought he was mean and arrogant. In reality, he is a very interesting, smart and gentle bloke. Love listening to his interviews

[@stephenmcloughlin7718]

Not sure gentle is the word, if his mate Botham is to be believed in his autobiography. He has a chapter eulogising Viv beating up people on purpose in pubs etc, gauding them into fights.

[@Pilkie101]

​@@stephenmcloughlin7718 Not wise to hit big Viv, he has a hard head!

[@stephenmcloughlin7718]

@@Pilkie101 , she was spot on in her original assessment.

[@shaynewest8757]

It's top level sport what was he supposed to do? Hand out flowers on the way to the pitch?

[@gavinscott8903]

Best I've seen. It's a great pity to me that I never got to see the sth African greats. Such as Pollock. Richards. Proctor & co play.

[@andrewcavenagh9016]

Statistics are all very well, but arguments will forever rage about relative pitch conditions, quality of bowling, batsmen''s protection etc . What is undeniable is that Viv had a presence on the pitch that no other WI batsman could match, with the possible exception of Chris Gayle at the height of his one-day career.

[@SajjadAli-bx8kh]

Very true. A simple answer. I will add " No one can match VIV's presence on the pitch". With all respect from Pakistan

[@ganeshvr9450]

During Richards' period, pitches were not covered and he was not using the modern day bat. The very presence of Richards made the bowlers weak. The great Lillee only troubled him though he was smashed. Viv also respected our legendary all rounder Kapil.

[@starwood213]

I wish they wouldn't have talked over viv so much.

[@anthonymensingh1989]

You people can't rate batsman against don Bradman he played on uncovered wickets different bats and remember when you played on uncovered wickets it might have rained the previous night and made batting even more treacherous and the modern day wickets are protected overnight and the bats of today are more superior because of technology has improved Vivian Richards is the modern day best batsman after WW2 and Don Bradman best batsman pre WW2 but if you really look at it it's pretty hard to judge batsman from different eras but overall you have to give Don Bradman a huge tick because of the bats he used and the uncovered wickets he played on and that's not taking away by any means what Vivian Richards achieved I'm just looking at it from what they didn't have back in the day to what cricketers have today love Anthony Fed ex lol love to all

[@websterjames4470]

Lllķ

[@shrinivaaspillai6327]

The way din Bradman batted was good in his days not for all era,the way Richards bats is extraordinary can't think of ,why Don Bradman is remembered because of 29 centuries in 52:test,suppose this very same had scored 11 centuries in 52 test nobody would have talked about,so is Sachin,Virat,Brian,Sunil gavaskar so on because of accumulation of runs,if these had Richards kind 23 test centuries and 11 one day centuries would these cricketers had been glorified as they are today, absolutely not but Vivian Richards is, statistic is ok,but when a player play can make out how great a batsman a particular cricketer is,in one of the interview of Ian Botham to Ali bacher, Botham said Don Bradman is not a proven batsman but Vivian Richards is in the difficult era,i' m a boxing fan but when I see Vivian Richards batting is on another level.

[@user-yb5sv7yc6r]

Cannot argue with average of 99.96. None of the other greats have managed to average even 60.

[@amitgokhale6578]

and Gavaskar scored 13 centuries against windies...

[@Bernie8330]

That is a half truth come complete myth. The reality is Gavaskar scored 4 tons against a very weak windies attack in the early 1970s, 2 tons against the emerging West Indies of the mid-70 when they were still only playing two fast bowlers, 4 against the WSC depleted West indies of the late 1970s and only 3 against the actual mighty West Indies post WSC - all three were in high scoring and/or rain ruined draws that exerted no impact whatsoever on the series in which they were played. In 5 result tests in 1983 against them, Gavaskar reached 50 only once.

[@ricardobufo]

I think you should ask Gavaskar about Viv. Sunil is a ESPN selector for their Legends of Cricket.

[@JoeBlow-cw2dz]

Finally Sylvester gets him due.

[@craigedwards2940]

Antigua and Barbados Apart from all of the great cricketers, great people.

[@rpattanaik1]

Other than Bradman, he was the best there was. Lara/Tendulkar don't even come close. When opening bowlers are scared of a helmetless batsman that says it all. And he is right about Marshall. He was perhaps the best fast bowler to have played the game.

[@Pilkie101]

How can you seriously say Bradman in particular isn't close? He is probably statistically the best sportsman ever.

[@rpattanaik1]

@@Pilkie101 I was saying 'other than Bradman', meaning Bradman was the best ever. About Richards though, Imran Khan, the 3rd fastest bowler at the time, said 'It was a scary experience to bowl to Richards'

[@RodinThink28]

Too much yammering going on, show some respect and let him finish

[@danewoods4712]

To be fair outside of Brendan Julian, they are all legends in their right. No disrespect to Brendan though, he played at the highest level and offered plenty, he just wasn’t in this calibre. Not many people are.

[@rickster5120]

The lads weren't impressed when he said Bob Willis in his 3 ..incredible if u ask someone then start adding in loads of others because your not happy with their reply ..I remember Holding smashing Willis to all corners in one Test and in interview said " I don't rate him "...

[@PraveenKumar-sr6ne]

Even I was surprised. Bob was consistently smashed by Viv. Even our own Sandeep Patil clobbered Bob all over the park. Bob is a great bowler but certainly not in the top 3 Viv would have faced. No way.

[@yacsem]

That was Willis's last test match in 1984. He was an old man and his knees especially had gone. He should have retired before that series.

[@rickster5120]

@@yacsem big hearted fast bowler...nobody tried any harder in an English shirt in fairness

[@jugheadsrule]

@@PraveenKumar-sr6ne Hey numbnuts, glad you know better than Viv who he rated as the top 3 bowlers he faced.

[@OrbvsTomarvm]

theres two kings. both play in gods XI. ones already there.

[@aquaworld240]

But 2023 world Cup West Indies not qualified for I feel like when India not qualified for bejieng hockey olimpics

[@scot506]

I think lara played spin better than Viv

[@sibghatmansoor5125]

Hmmm viv couldn't name many fast bowlers. There weren't many in his opposition teams in his days.

[@fjasdfjdsakfjalfsjdalksfakjlk]

Lillee Thomson Pascoe Hadlee Willis Imran Akram Rodney Hogg Devon Malcolm

[@hashirsiddiqui4227]

​@@fjasdfjdsakfjalfsjdalksfakjlk 😂😂😂😂❤❤❤❤ I Am 22 Right Now From Pakistan I Love Watching Old Gold Imran Khan VS Viv Richards Contest And Lille Haydlee Vs Richards Those Were Some Mighty Battles ❤❤❤❤ My Fav Cricket Personalities Imran Khan Viv Richards Lille Haydleee❤❤❤❤

[@scot506]

But fast bowling Viv is better

[@avnishrao9148]

Nowadays players play for glory, personal milestones and big money. Why should players playing for the Country as a Pride be paid crores of rupees. There is lot of poverty in the country of 142 crores population like India. Why govt allows such cricket boards to just glorify cricketers and pay such big contract money, advt sponsorship money and big bonus. We have defence forces who fight and lay down their lives almost daily on borders and in inland ambushed with terrorists and maoists, They are not paid as much these cricketers.

[@anandkishore3898]

MY ALL TIME BEST 11 WITH FEW ALTERNATIVES (ALL PLAYERS IN EXTREME BEAST FORM)..... ALL TIME TEST 11 : 1. GAVASKAR/MERCHANT 2. DRAVID/SANGA (w) 3. BRADMAN 4. RICHARDS 5. SOBERS/LARA 6. STEVE WAUGH (c) 7. HADLEE/BOTHAM/KAPIL/IMRAN 8. LEE/WASIM/AMBROSE/WALSH 9. WARNE/MURALITHARAN 10. MARSHALL/ROBERTS 11. JOEL GARNER 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 ALL TIME ODI/T20 11 ( because they play ODI just like T10 🔥😎 ) : 1. SACHIN 2. JAYASURIYA 3. GILCHRIST (w) 4. PONTING (c) 5. KALLIS 6. BEVAN 7. LEE 8. WARNE 9. WASIM 10. WAQAR/DONALD/BOND 11. GARNER/MCGRATH 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (NO HATE TO ANYONE. BUT THERE'S SOME BETTER MATCH WINNERS WITH CAPTAINCY BATTING KEEPING COMBINATION, THAT'S WHY DHONI MISSES OUT, AND THERE ARE MANY MORE PLAYERS POSSIBLE TO PICK THAN NOWADAYS PLAYERS, THAT'S WHY ALL PLAYERS OF THIS GENERATION MISS OUT) IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANY POST 1990s TEAM TO WIN AGAINST THIS 11 !!!!! 🙏✌️😎🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 IF YOU AREN'T PICKING THE ALMIGHTY SIR JOEL GARNER IN ANY 11, THEN YOU SERIOUSLY DESERVE WORST DEATH. END OF THE DISCUSSION. 👍

[@Pilkie101]

Relax bro

[@anandkishore3898]

@@Pilkie101 I'm absolutely relaxed. Why aren't you ???

[@jugheadsrule]

You have a ridiculous 11 for both formats. Dravid/Sanga? Gavaskar/Merchant? Lara? Steve Waugh?! Bwahahaha! Lee?! Walsh?! Bwhahahaha! Barry Richards and Greenidge by far the better openers. Steve Waugh isn't even in the top 5 Aussie batsmen of the last 50 years. Greg Chappell by far superior in every facet. Lee?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Walsh isn't even in the top 6 Windies bowlers of the last 50 years! Gilchrist has to be the keeper. And the less said about chuckLitharan the better. ODI Team: Tendulkar? Lol Typical Indian fanboi selection. Give me Fredricks, Greenidge or Mark Waugh to partner Gilchrist as openers. Ponting 3, Greg Chappell -again Australia's best ODI cricketer by far, at 4. Lee again? Lol! I'd have either Collis King, Symonds, or Lance Klusener. And you only have Garner - the greatest ODI bowler ever - as a maybe? Lol!

[@anandkishore3898]

@@jugheadsrule I THINK YOU'RE 1960s 1970s PERSON. BUT ALTHOUGH I HAVEN'T WATCHED BARRY, GREENIDGE OR THEN PLAYERS THAT MUCH, I KNOW THEY'RE VERY GOOD. BUT I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THEIR BATTING STRENGTHS. SO, MY 11 IS BASED PRECISELY ON POST 1980s PLAYERS THAT I KNOW OF. NOW YOU CAN SHUT UP AND GET LOST FOREVER LOL, BECAUSE YOU'VE ACTED TOO OVERSMART & SHOWN YOUR OVERFLOWING ARROGANCE THERE. ☺️

[@anandkishore3898]

@@jugheadsrule BY THE WAY, YOU'RE DICKHEAD FOR SURE, IF YOU MOCK ODI 11. SO YOU'RE DISDAINFULLY INSULTED & IGNORED FOREVER. 😘☺️😆

[@Beazle00]

Well I saw all of these players. A lot. Bernie whoever, is a stats geek. No knowledge -no idea. A kid.

[@Bernie8330]

What stats are you talking about? I despise the traditional runs, not outs, average way of rating players. I am nearly 50 btw.

[@albertstephen4062]

Brian lara was best player in West Indies.

[@Bernie8330]

Nope. Viv was not inferior to Lara in any way. If you are talking about Lara's colossal individual scores most of them were in completely benign conditions in which bowlers from neither side were ever in the game.

[@TUFAII]

Makes no difference what the era or bowlers to get huge triple and quadruple test centuries is awesome in any era irrespective the bowlers, just like Don Bradman batting average will always be awesome irrespective the era or test playing nations. If these feats are easy to achieve then many more players would be scoring quadruple test centuries or averaging 99:96 in test cricket

[@calvindonaldson9879]

The difference between Lara and Viv is that Viv never played for records. Michael Holding quoted that if Viv had played for records, he would have got every record going in test cricket. Another thing you have to take into consideration is that Viv never played with a helmet against the fast bowlers when they were available. In fairness it is unfair to compare different era's. The question could be asked about Don Bradman's batting average. Could he achieved it if he played ODI's or T20's , or if he had to face the West Indies attack in the 80's or Wasim and Waqar. It's just a matter of opinion.

[@Bernie8330]

@@TUFAII That is not correct. There is nothing great about scoring a massive double or triple ton in a match where only 20 or less wickets fall in total across five full days, and several other batsmen in both your team and the opposition also make hundreds, and very few batsmen outrightly fail. That is not an even contest between bat and ball and such games have no potential to have a result and are therefore a complete waste of time. The hard runs are small tons that are the only ton in the match for either team, such as Kim Hughes’s 100 not out in Melbourne against the mighty Windies attack or Mark Waugh’s 116 in Port Elizabeth 1997 against the high-class South African attack. No triple century has ever been scored on a raging turner, seaming green top or a fast bouncy WACA pitch against Curtly Ambrose and company. The standard of bowling Bradman faced was nothing like the 1970-2000 period. As well as seeing multiple runs from multiple other batsmen in the same game, most tests in which triple tons are scored are boring unimaginative draws - the only real exceptions involve gross mismatches between the two sides, for example Matthew Hayden's 380 against Zimbabwe. Also, when a pitch was rain affected and difficult to bat on, Bradman would drop himself down the order and wait for the pitch to dry out into a flat surface before he himself would go in. One such time, he ended up going in at number 7 and scored 270 when only half that much at most was even remotely needed for the team cause of winning. Bradman certainly wasn’t selfish like Geoff Boycott, but he was more than a touch self-centred when it came to batting. Bradman batted on a rain affected pitch 14 times in his 80 test innings and reached 50 only once in those 14 times. George Headley from the same era batted on a rain affected pitch 13 times in his 40 test innings and reached 50 seven times in those 13 innings. When conditions facilitated an even contest between bat and ball, Bradman was not to be feared in any way.

[@Bernie8330]

@@calvindonaldson9879 Bradman would be extremely unlikely to have averaged more than about 25 against the West Indies in the 1979-97 period, as most of the time he would have been up against the equivalent of three Larwoods plus a better than Voce. During that Bodyline summer, he averaged a mere 21 runs against Larwood (6 times out to him for a total of 130 runs off him) and only 27 against Larwood and Voce combined. The large majority of his runs were against the much lesser bowlers of Gubby Allen (who didn't bowl bodyline), part time medium pacer Wally Hammond and the average everyday spinner Verity, whose career strike rate was a wicket every 77 balls.

[@SuperRiddlers]

Absolute king of cool. The best walk to the wicket ever. He could bat a bit too LOL

[@shujahmohammed9173]

Greatest batsman ever Viv . Greatest bowler ever Wasim