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Did King Viv had any weakness?
- Thread starter HeavyBall
- Start date
G.I.Joe
International Coach
SJS writes...
I have seen almost all his international innings starting with his first test series and the world cup finals of 1975 where he made most of his contribution when Windies were fielding.
In the preceding winter he had made his Test debut in India. (1974-745)
Chandra got him in both innings of the first test. He did not reach double digits for the match !
Next test was at Delhi where I lived. West Indies lost 3 wickets by around lunch time and then he came in. Chandra was not playing, I cant remember why, but Prasanna and Bedi made him look like an absolute novice and during the course of his first fifty runs he looked like getting out half a dozen times. But he survived and went on to score an unbeaten 192.
Even in the next three matches he had a top score of 50 in six innings. I wasn't impressed and for a long time the image of him struggling before the Indian spinners stayed with me and I refused to accept him as the giant he was proclaimed in England and Australia.
The series in India was immediately followed by one against Pakistan where he scored 17 runs in the three innings he played falling twice to spinners Intikhab Alam and Mushtaq Mohammad.
He was not a sensation (with the bat in the 1975 world cup) and in the winter he went to Australia for a 6 test series. He scored 0, 12 and 12 in the first two tests but West Indies persisted with him. In the next two tests he batted pretty aggressively but managed just a couple of forties and a thirty. Lillee and Thomsons seemed to have his measure.
The he decided to open the batting. In the last two tests, as opener, he scored 30 (38 balls), 101 (138 balls), 50 (54 balls) and 98 (103 balls) !! He averaged under 40 for the series but his last two tests showed batting of a very high order with brilliant and fearless strokeplay.
Windies returned hom to face India within weeks. This time Richards was ready and scored over 500 runs with three centuries and an average in the 90's. We did not watch that series live and had our own explanation for Richards' change of fortune.
Prasanna was injured during the first innings of the first test and did not play any more on the tour. The attack was never the same without him. This was true but we were being less than gracious. Venkatraghvan was no Prasanna but he was a very good bowler and there was Bedi besides Chandra.
The next series in England should have shut all of us for all time to come.
In just four test matches, Richards scored 829 runs in the series starting off with 232 at trent Bridge and signing off with 291 at the Oval. He averaged 118 plus for the series.
But he had another two ordinary series against Pakistan and Australia at home averaging under 30 for the two series.
I always thought him to be suspect against the really top class spinners. He enjoyed the ball coming on to the bat and I suspect a crafty spinner on a slow wicket was not his cup of tea. Unfortunately he did not play the great Indian spinners again in a test match. By the time he played India next in the 80's the spin department was in the hands of Shastri and Maninder and an ageing Venkat. Still in two series one at home and one away in two years he averaged in the 40's and 30's.
I have seen almost all his international innings starting with his first test series and the world cup finals of 1975 where he made most of his contribution when Windies were fielding.
In the preceding winter he had made his Test debut in India. (1974-745)
Chandra got him in both innings of the first test. He did not reach double digits for the match !
Next test was at Delhi where I lived. West Indies lost 3 wickets by around lunch time and then he came in. Chandra was not playing, I cant remember why, but Prasanna and Bedi made him look like an absolute novice and during the course of his first fifty runs he looked like getting out half a dozen times. But he survived and went on to score an unbeaten 192.
Even in the next three matches he had a top score of 50 in six innings. I wasn't impressed and for a long time the image of him struggling before the Indian spinners stayed with me and I refused to accept him as the giant he was proclaimed in England and Australia.
The series in India was immediately followed by one against Pakistan where he scored 17 runs in the three innings he played falling twice to spinners Intikhab Alam and Mushtaq Mohammad.
He was not a sensation (with the bat in the 1975 world cup) and in the winter he went to Australia for a 6 test series. He scored 0, 12 and 12 in the first two tests but West Indies persisted with him. In the next two tests he batted pretty aggressively but managed just a couple of forties and a thirty. Lillee and Thomsons seemed to have his measure.
The he decided to open the batting. In the last two tests, as opener, he scored 30 (38 balls), 101 (138 balls), 50 (54 balls) and 98 (103 balls) !! He averaged under 40 for the series but his last two tests showed batting of a very high order with brilliant and fearless strokeplay.
Windies returned hom to face India within weeks. This time Richards was ready and scored over 500 runs with three centuries and an average in the 90's. We did not watch that series live and had our own explanation for Richards' change of fortune.
Prasanna was injured during the first innings of the first test and did not play any more on the tour. The attack was never the same without him. This was true but we were being less than gracious. Venkatraghvan was no Prasanna but he was a very good bowler and there was Bedi besides Chandra.
The next series in England should have shut all of us for all time to come.
In just four test matches, Richards scored 829 runs in the series starting off with 232 at trent Bridge and signing off with 291 at the Oval. He averaged 118 plus for the series.
But he had another two ordinary series against Pakistan and Australia at home averaging under 30 for the two series.
I always thought him to be suspect against the really top class spinners. He enjoyed the ball coming on to the bat and I suspect a crafty spinner on a slow wicket was not his cup of tea. Unfortunately he did not play the great Indian spinners again in a test match. By the time he played India next in the 80's the spin department was in the hands of Shastri and Maninder and an ageing Venkat. Still in two series one at home and one away in two years he averaged in the 40's and 30's.
Eds
International Debutant
Ummm...?
fredfertang
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Viv's early career brought him up against Bedi/Venkat/Prasanna/Chandra and he didn't have any problems scoring runs off them even though he was pretty young - his only weakness was, occasionally, his own over-confidence
Agent Nationaux
International Coach
Sounds like Viv would have struggled against Ajmal. 
Agent Nationaux
International Coach
Ajmal haters. 
Warne, Kumble, Murali and Saqlain - the 1990's spinners......
The 4 above might have given Viv a tough time had he batted in the 1990's.
Hurricane
Hall of Fame Member
yep - paddles wrote of him that he could count on him to take on the hook shot early in his inning. "He was a macho guy"
Debris
International 12th Man
I can only really remember the second half of Viv's career but the concern was always not how hard it was to get him out but what would happen if you did not. He had issues with the moving ball early in his innings and had problems with the ball turning away from the bat, from what I can recall. Richard's greatness came from his ability to play attacking shots to balls that everyone else was having to defend and his amazing scoring rate (for the day).
zaremba
Cricketer Of The Year
Played against Derek Underwood in 5 Tests. Averaged 121.75.
robelinda
International Vice-Captain
Does that mean Hilditch is as good as Viv?
Zinzan
Request Your Custom Title Now!
As much as it was a strength, his arrogance & over-confidence was also a weakness. Had he been a little more calculating he would probably have averaged closer to 60 for mine. But that was the trade-off for being one of the greatest entertainers in cricket history.
Migara
Cricketer Of The Year
Murali and Warne were little bit classier than Underwood. weren't they?
If I would name a bowler to nail Viv 9/10 for low scores, I'd take McGrath, because he did what Viv disliked most, variation amongst monotony. Next would be Murali, once again would keep bowling there and there abouts and will not sledge at any cost. But best would have been Viv-Warne contest with insults thrown left right and center by both.
bagapath
International Captain
would be willing to give six months earnings to see that.
smash84
The Tiger King
Not really. The 70s and 80s had some of the best players of pace ever assembled and Viv could take them on.
Top_Cat
Request Your Custom Title Now!
VIV RICHARDS vs SHANE WARNE - RARE FOOTAGE- legend vs legend - YouTube
robelinda@paypal.com. I'm sure, being a music teacher, he could do with the extra $.
(AUD$)
Viv said in a book I own, Hitting Across The Line, that he found Chandra the toughest spinner he had to face. From what he said, middling bowling of any sort didn't really trouble him/he smashed the bejesus out of it but he was troubled a bit more by top-class spin than top-class pace.
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