Vivian Richards 189*

[G.I.Joe]

Footage does exist, its just not official, nor is it very good.

Provide!!

 

[smash84]

Steve Waugh's batting (his innings against RSA in that World Cup in particular) although great for some reason lacks the aesthetic appeal or the sheer destructive power of a Lara or a Tendulkar or Gilchrist's innings.

Yes, De Silva's knock might have looked easy, but I was rooting heavily for Sri Lanka and believe me there was serious pressure . That was one cricket match where I just wanted Sri Lanka to win (nothing against Australia or anything).

Lara also has a few ODI 100s against great attacks while chasing. I remember his 153 against Waqar while chasing some 280+ (high ODI score in those days ) in the early 90s. He also had a couple of 100s in that bitterly fought World Series Cricket between Aus-Pak-Windies in 1996-97 which Pak ended up winning. That was a great ODI series with all three teams having great attacks.

As Pakistan fan I found that World Series to be one of the best of all time. Pak had Wasim, Waqar, Zahid (maybe the fastest ever???) and Saqlain.....Windies had Ambrose and Walsh.....and Australia had McGrath, Fleming, and Shane Warne.....it was a fantastic tournament. One of my all time favorites.

 

[honestbharani]

As Pakistan fan I found that World Series to be one of the best of all time. Pak had Wasim, Waqar, Zahid (maybe the fastest ever???) and Saqlain.....Windies had Ambrose and Walsh.....and Australia had McGrath, Fleming, and Shane Warne.....it was a fantastic tournament. One of my all time favorites.

yeah.. was top quality cricket... Loved watching it even here in India. That 90 by Lara when Warne bowled like 7 overs for 14 mesmerizing everyone and then Lara basically manhandling him in his last 3 was an awesome watch.

 

[vcs]

I remember watching that Bevan innings live here in India. (wasn't it in that same tournament?)

 

[honestbharani]

I remember watching that Bevan innings live here in India. (wasn't it in that same tournament?)

Think it was that one or the one the very next year, when the same 3 teams again collided but in one of those series Lara was not there.. Keep forgetting which happened first and which happened later.

 

[shivfan]

I was fortunate enough to be present at the Richards knock in 1984.

I envy you....

I listened to it on live radio at the time, which is the way we used to follow cricket in the Caribbean in those days. What an innings!

 

[Altaican]

As Pakistan fan I found that World Series to be one of the best of all time. Pak had Wasim, Waqar, Zahid (maybe the fastest ever???) and Saqlain.....Windies had Ambrose and Walsh.....and Australia had McGrath, Fleming, and Shane Warne.....it was a fantastic tournament. One of my all time favorites.

To give you a prespective how different that ODI series was from the current flat-track, run-fests: Of the 14 matches played during the tournament (including the finals), the team batting first managed to cross 200 just 4 times! Teams were able to defend totals as low as 149 and 163. It was very tough but very entertaining cricket. No batsman, including Shahid Afridi , who had scored at least 10 runs in the series, had a SR above 90.

 

[smash84]

To give you a prespective how different that ODI series was from the current flat-track, run-fests: Of the 14 matches played during the tournament (including the finals), the team batting first managed to cross 200 just 4 times! Teams were able to defend totals as low as 149 and 163. It was very tough but very entertaining cricket. No batsman, including Shahid Afridi , who had scored at least 10 runs in the series, had a SR above 90.

Now THAT is something.......you can always expect an infinitesimal average from Afridi but his SR is always very high.....looks like that tournament was tough even for him to score.......

I remember he played a lovely innings in one of the finals against the Windies against Ambrose and Walsh......I think it was 50 odd but it was very valuable since the target was around 182 or something.........superb cricket all around.....

 

[ankitj]

Now THAT is something.......you can always expect an infinitesimal average from Afridi but his SR is always very high.....looks like that tournament was tough even for him to score.......

I remember he played a lovely innings in one of the finals against the Windies against Ambrose and Walsh......I think it was 50 odd but it was very valuable since the target was around 182 or something.........superb cricket all around.....

I remember that series too. WI had lost the test series before that and they came out in the ODI tournament with some sort of vengeance and won lot of matches (how many out of 12 in the league btw?). In the finals though they lost the intensity. It was also after some 10 years or so that Aus had failed to make it to the final of that annual tournament. Superb ODI cricket!

 

[Altaican]

Now THAT is something.......you can always expect an infinitesimal average from Afridi but his SR is always very high.....looks like that tournament was tough even for him to score.......

I remember he played a lovely innings in one of the finals against the Windies against Ambrose and Walsh......I think it was 50 odd but it was very valuable since the target was around 182 or something.........superb cricket all around.....

That series reminds me of the Packer series. I wonder if there is some video footage of Packer cricket somewhere. In his book, Viv calls it the toughest cricket he has ever played (but unfortunately he does not go into the details). Dennis Lillee says the exact same thing in his book (by far the toughest cricket played) . I also read an interview where he argues for the inclusion of those stats into Test cricket simply because cricket there was of the highest calibre ever played, and far exceeded most Test matches in quality and skill.

In his autobiography "All Round View", Imran Khan shares similar views (writing on the Packer series):

It's possible that some of the Australian players may have realised that the first Packer series could lead to a serious rift in the cricketing world, but I don't think any of the West Indian, Pakistani or English players harboured such suspicions. With hindsight, this seems extremely naive - after all, the Australian Board was unlikely to take a parallel series lying down. Most of us assumed that some agreement would be reached that would include Kerry Packer's Australia versus a World XI project. Little did we know that all hell was about to break loose. The Australian Board banned their players who had signed with Packer, and put pressure on the ICC to have the rest of us banned. Although it was not their problem, the Pakistani and English Boards fell into line. Those countries whose players had not been invited by Packer - India and New Zealand - joined the shrill chorus of denunciation. Only the West Indian controllng body approached the matter sensibly.

The moment the battle lines had been drawn up, Kerry Packer signed the whole West Indian team as well as additional English and Pakistani playes (Mushtaq and Zaheer). The reaction to our signing with Kerry Packer was so extreme and so ludicrous that the players closed ranks and were determined to stick it out, even if it meant forgoing their Test careers for a while. We embarked on a couple of seasons of Packer cricket with some misgivings, but a good deal of excitement at playing with and against the best players in the world, for Packer cricket was to be the toughest test of skill and stamina I have ever experienced. On the other hand, it lacked the tension of Test matches and the adrenalin that flows when one plays for one's country. Beyond a certain point, it is difficult to bowl to brilliant batsmen or face a battery of fast bowlers day after day simply to prove one's individual worth.

Packer cricket was so unremittingly difficult that some batsmen were permanently scarred by the experience. All three teams, the West Indies, Australia and the World XI, had such ferocious pace attacks that there was never any relief. Despite the introduction of helmets - which were absolutely essential - batting was a hazardous business. There were no minor games in which a batsman could recuperate. A few reputations were made, but more were punctured. Vivian Richards stood out: one could see that he was in a different class from the Chappell brothers, Barry Richards, Majid [Khan] and Greenidge, all of whom were great players, but really in the second rank compared to Viv at the time. Of the Pakistani batsmen, Mushtaq, already suspect against pace, vanished into oblivion. Majid [Khan], who had stopped playing for Glamorgan, and had taken seven months off from cricket, was just not prepared for the calibre of bowling he had to face, and it took him some time to adjust, he was never quite the batsman he should have been. Zaheer [Abbas] did not make an impact till the second year.
....
Some reputations were damaged beyond repair, particularly Tony Greig's. His bowling was largely innocuous and his batting technique was exposed by the barrage of short-pitched bowling, ironically, one of the main organisers of Packer cricket was quite unsuited to meet it's special demands.

It seems as if subjecting the batsman to a barrage of bouncers was the norm in 70s, set by Lillee, and continued in the 80s by the Windies bowlers. Lillee did that even in ODIs. In the 1975 World Cup final, his first ball to Roy Fredricks was a bouncer which was hooked out of the ground for a 6. Next ball, again a bouncer!, and again Fredricks hooked it out of the ground, but in doing so lost his balance and fell on his stumps. This famous Lillee-Viv video in 76 is a good example. Pascoe does the same to Viv again in 79. Interesting though how Viv's build, personality and attitude seem totally changed in 3 years . One time when it backfired badly though was against Kallicharan, who butchered Lillee with a dazzling array of hook shots.

 

[robelinda]

That series reminds me of the Packer series. I wonder if there is some video footage of Packer cricket somewhere. In his book, Viv calls it the toughest cricket he has ever played (but unfortunately he does not go into the details). Dennis Lillee says the exact same thing in his book (by far the toughest cricket played) . I also read an interview where he argues for the inclusion of those stats into Test cricket simply because cricket there was of the highest calibre ever played, and far exceeded most Test matches in quality and skill.

In his autobiography "All Round View", Imran Khan shares similar views (writing on the Packer series):

It's possible that some of the Australian players may have realised that the first Packer series could lead to a serious rift in the cricketing world, but I don't think any of the West Indian, Pakistani or English players harboured such suspicions. With hindsight, this seems extremely naive - after all, the Australian Board was unlikely to take a parallel series lying down. Most of us assumed that some agreement would be reached that would include Kerry Packer's Australia versus a World XI project. Little did we know that all hell was about to break loose. The Australian Board banned their players who had signed with Packer, and put pressure on the ICC to have the rest of us banned. Although it was not their problem, the Pakistani and English Boards fell into line. Those countries whose players had not been invited by Packer - India and New Zealand - joined the shrill chorus of denunciation. Only the West Indian controllng body approached the matter sensibly.

The moment the battle lines had been drawn up, Kerry Packer signed the whole West Indian team as well as additional English and Pakistani playes (Mushtaq and Zaheer). The reaction to our signing with Kerry Packer was so extreme and so ludicrous that the players closed ranks and were determined to stick it out, even if it meant forgoing their Test careers for a while. We embarked on a couple of seasons of Packer cricket with some misgivings, but a good deal of excitement at playing with and against the best players in the world, for Packer cricket was to be the toughest test of skill and stamina I have ever experienced. On the other hand, it lacked the tension of Test matches and the adrenalin that flows when one plays for one's country. Beyond a certain point, it is difficult to bowl to brilliant batsmen or face a battery of fast bowlers day after day simply to prove one's individual worth.

Packer cricket was so unremittingly difficult that some batsmen were permanently scarred by the experience. All three teams, the West Indies, Australia and the World XI, had such ferocious pace attacks that there was never any relief. Despite the introduction of helmets - which were absolutely essential - batting was a hazardous business. There were no minor games in which a batsman could recuperate. A few reputations were made, but more were punctured. Vivian Richards stood out: one could see that he was in a different class from the Chappell brothers, Barry Richards, Majid [Khan] and Greenidge, all of whom were great players, but really in the second rank compared to Viv at the time. Of the Pakistani batsmen, Mushtaq, already suspect against pace, vanished into oblivion. Majid [Khan], who had stopped playing for Glamorgan, and had taken seven months off from cricket, was just not prepared for the calibre of bowling he had to face, and it took him some time to adjust, he was never quite the batsman he should have been. Zaheer [Abbas] did not make an impact till the second year.
....
Some reputations were damaged beyond repair, particularly Tony Greig's. His bowling was largely innocuous and his batting technique was exposed by the barrage of short-pitched bowling, ironically, one of the main organisers of Packer cricket was quite unsuited to meet it's special demands.

It seems as if subjecting the batsman to a barrage of bouncers was the norm in 70s, set by Lillee, and continued in the 80s by the Windies bowlers. Lillee did that even in ODIs. In the 1975 World Cup final, his first ball to Roy Fredricks was a bouncer which was hooked out of the ground for a 6. Next ball, again a bouncer!, and again Fredricks hooked it out of the ground, but in doing so lost his balance and fell on his stumps. This famous Lillee-Viv video in 76 is a good example. Pascoe does the same to Viv again in 79. Interesting though how Viv's build, personality and attitude seem totally changed in 3 years . One time when it backfired badly though was against Kallicharan, who butchered Lillee with a dazzling array of hook shots.

I'm not surprised Viv says it was tough- he was exposed as much as anyone. Bit of a myth that he dominated WSC, the stats say otherwise, only one ton in the 'tests', and from memory only an average of around 30 odd in the one dayers. Pak CD store has some WSC, Ch 9 has shown quite a bit over the years during rain breaks, but not for awhile. They've even been known to sell matches on occasions for a VERY steep price.....

 

[smash84]

That series reminds me of the Packer series. I wonder if there is some video footage of Packer cricket somewhere. In his book, Viv calls it the toughest cricket he has ever played (but unfortunately he does not go into the details). Dennis Lillee says the exact same thing in his book (by far the toughest cricket played) . I also read an interview where he argues for the inclusion of those stats into Test cricket simply because cricket there was of the highest calibre ever played, and far exceeded most Test matches in quality and skill.

In his autobiography "All Round View", Imran Khan shares similar views (writing on the Packer series):

It's possible that some of the Australian players may have realised that the first Packer series could lead to a serious rift in the cricketing world, but I don't think any of the West Indian, Pakistani or English players harboured such suspicions. With hindsight, this seems extremely naive - after all, the Australian Board was unlikely to take a parallel series lying down. Most of us assumed that some agreement would be reached that would include Kerry Packer's Australia versus a World XI project. Little did we know that all hell was about to break loose. The Australian Board banned their players who had signed with Packer, and put pressure on the ICC to have the rest of us banned. Although it was not their problem, the Pakistani and English Boards fell into line. Those countries whose players had not been invited by Packer - India and New Zealand - joined the shrill chorus of denunciation. Only the West Indian controllng body approached the matter sensibly.

The moment the battle lines had been drawn up, Kerry Packer signed the whole West Indian team as well as additional English and Pakistani playes (Mushtaq and Zaheer). The reaction to our signing with Kerry Packer was so extreme and so ludicrous that the players closed ranks and were determined to stick it out, even if it meant forgoing their Test careers for a while. We embarked on a couple of seasons of Packer cricket with some misgivings, but a good deal of excitement at playing with and against the best players in the world, for Packer cricket was to be the toughest test of skill and stamina I have ever experienced. On the other hand, it lacked the tension of Test matches and the adrenalin that flows when one plays for one's country. Beyond a certain point, it is difficult to bowl to brilliant batsmen or face a battery of fast bowlers day after day simply to prove one's individual worth.

Packer cricket was so unremittingly difficult that some batsmen were permanently scarred by the experience. All three teams, the West Indies, Australia and the World XI, had such ferocious pace attacks that there was never any relief. Despite the introduction of helmets - which were absolutely essential - batting was a hazardous business. There were no minor games in which a batsman could recuperate. A few reputations were made, but more were punctured. Vivian Richards stood out: one could see that he was in a different class from the Chappell brothers, Barry Richards, Majid [Khan] and Greenidge, all of whom were great players, but really in the second rank compared to Viv at the time. Of the Pakistani batsmen, Mushtaq, already suspect against pace, vanished into oblivion. Majid [Khan], who had stopped playing for Glamorgan, and had taken seven months off from cricket, was just not prepared for the calibre of bowling he had to face, and it took him some time to adjust, he was never quite the batsman he should have been. Zaheer [Abbas] did not make an impact till the second year.
....
Some reputations were damaged beyond repair, particularly Tony Greig's. His bowling was largely innocuous and his batting technique was exposed by the barrage of short-pitched bowling, ironically, one of the main organisers of Packer cricket was quite unsuited to meet it's special demands.

It seems as if subjecting the batsman to a barrage of bouncers was the norm in 70s, set by Lillee, and continued in the 80s by the Windies bowlers. Lillee did that even in ODIs. In the 1975 World Cup final, his first ball to Roy Fredricks was a bouncer which was hooked out of the ground for a 6. Next ball, again a bouncer!, and again Fredricks hooked it out of the ground, but in doing so lost his balance and fell on his stumps. This famous Lillee-Viv video in 76 is a good example. Pascoe does the same to Viv again in 79. Interesting though how Viv's build, personality and attitude seem totally changed in 3 years . One time when it backfired badly though was against Kallicharan, who butchered Lillee with a dazzling array of hook shots.

I don't think that Imran had as much respect for any player as for Viv Richards. In this section from his book he talks about Viv even above Greg Chappell.

And yes those who played WSC generally agree that it was some of the most competitive cricket that they played in their lives.

You have to give them that. The quality of the players in WSC was tremendous. And players who came out on top in those series were really top class players. I think that might be one of the reasons some of the South African players from that era who never played much international cricket are rated so highly because they performed well in the WSC. I think Garth Le Roux and Mike Procter were there......also I think Clive Rice was there...........

 

[smash84]

That series reminds me of the Packer series. I wonder if there is some video footage of Packer cricket somewhere. In his book, Viv calls it the toughest cricket he has ever played (but unfortunately he does not go into the details). Dennis Lillee says the exact same thing in his book (by far the toughest cricket played) . I also read an interview where he argues for the inclusion of those stats into Test cricket simply because cricket there was of the highest calibre ever played, and far exceeded most Test matches in quality and skill.

In his autobiography "All Round View", Imran Khan shares similar views (writing on the Packer series):

It's possible that some of the Australian players may have realised that the first Packer series could lead to a serious rift in the cricketing world, but I don't think any of the West Indian, Pakistani or English players harboured such suspicions. With hindsight, this seems extremely naive - after all, the Australian Board was unlikely to take a parallel series lying down. Most of us assumed that some agreement would be reached that would include Kerry Packer's Australia versus a World XI project. Little did we know that all hell was about to break loose. The Australian Board banned their players who had signed with Packer, and put pressure on the ICC to have the rest of us banned. Although it was not their problem, the Pakistani and English Boards fell into line. Those countries whose players had not been invited by Packer - India and New Zealand - joined the shrill chorus of denunciation. Only the West Indian controllng body approached the matter sensibly.

The moment the battle lines had been drawn up, Kerry Packer signed the whole West Indian team as well as additional English and Pakistani playes (Mushtaq and Zaheer). The reaction to our signing with Kerry Packer was so extreme and so ludicrous that the players closed ranks and were determined to stick it out, even if it meant forgoing their Test careers for a while. We embarked on a couple of seasons of Packer cricket with some misgivings, but a good deal of excitement at playing with and against the best players in the world, for Packer cricket was to be the toughest test of skill and stamina I have ever experienced. On the other hand, it lacked the tension of Test matches and the adrenalin that flows when one plays for one's country. Beyond a certain point, it is difficult to bowl to brilliant batsmen or face a battery of fast bowlers day after day simply to prove one's individual worth.

Packer cricket was so unremittingly difficult that some batsmen were permanently scarred by the experience. All three teams, the West Indies, Australia and the World XI, had such ferocious pace attacks that there was never any relief. Despite the introduction of helmets - which were absolutely essential - batting was a hazardous business. There were no minor games in which a batsman could recuperate. A few reputations were made, but more were punctured. Vivian Richards stood out: one could see that he was in a different class from the Chappell brothers, Barry Richards, Majid [Khan] and Greenidge, all of whom were great players, but really in the second rank compared to Viv at the time. Of the Pakistani batsmen, Mushtaq, already suspect against pace, vanished into oblivion. Majid [Khan], who had stopped playing for Glamorgan, and had taken seven months off from cricket, was just not prepared for the calibre of bowling he had to face, and it took him some time to adjust, he was never quite the batsman he should have been. Zaheer [Abbas] did not make an impact till the second year.
....
Some reputations were damaged beyond repair, particularly Tony Greig's. His bowling was largely innocuous and his batting technique was exposed by the barrage of short-pitched bowling, ironically, one of the main organisers of Packer cricket was quite unsuited to meet it's special demands.

It seems as if subjecting the batsman to a barrage of bouncers was the norm in 70s, set by Lillee, and continued in the 80s by the Windies bowlers. Lillee did that even in ODIs. In the 1975 World Cup final, his first ball to Roy Fredricks was a bouncer which was hooked out of the ground for a 6. Next ball, again a bouncer!, and again Fredricks hooked it out of the ground, but in doing so lost his balance and fell on his stumps. This famous Lillee-Viv video in 76 is a good example. Pascoe does the same to Viv again in 79. Interesting though how Viv's build, personality and attitude seem totally changed in 3 years . One time when it backfired badly though was against Kallicharan, who butchered Lillee with a dazzling array of hook shots.

I read some chapters in the book All Round View. It used to be in our school library. However once I changed the school I never got a chance to read it. It was a very good book.

 

[kingkallis]

I envy you....

I listened to it on live radio at the time, which is the way we used to follow cricket in the Caribbean in those days. What an innings!

I was just 3 year old so no chance of any of the above

Can anybody post any video or anything like that of this knock of Viv?

 

[The Sean]

I'm not surprised Viv says it was tough- he was exposed as much as anyone. Bit of a myth that he dominated WSC, the stats say otherwise, only one ton in the 'tests', and from memory only an average of around 30 odd in the one dayers. Pak CD store has some WSC, Ch 9 has shown quite a bit over the years during rain breaks, but not for awhile. They've even been known to sell matches on occasions for a VERY steep price.....

Not sure which stats you're looking at there.

Viv hit four tons in WSC Supertests and averages 55.69. All four tons came in the first summer when he really was dominant - his six matches yielded 862 runs at 86.2.

That being said, Chappell was even better over the full WSC experience - five tons and an average of 58.

 

[centurymaker]

It was against Sri Lanka in the 2003 World Cup IIRC.

Whats IIRC?

 

[Teja.]

Not sure which stats you're looking at there.

Viv hit four tons in WSC Supertests and averages 55.69. All four tons came in the first summer when he really was dominant - his six matches yielded 862 runs at 86.2.

That being said, Chappell was even better over the full WSC experience - five tons and an average of 58.

Welcome back, Sean.

Missed you on CC. How did your tour go?

 

[Teja.]

Whats IIRC?

If I Recall Correctly

 

[robelinda]

Not sure which stats you're looking at there.

Viv hit four tons in WSC Supertests and averages 55.69. All four tons came in the first summer when he really was dominant - his six matches yielded 862 runs at 86.2.

That being said, Chappell was even better over the full WSC experience - five tons and an average of 58.

Oh, well thats weird. I have a WSC guide which has the same stats as cricinfo, which tells me just the one ton, but i always thought there was more than one, in fact I have more than one on video but thought it must be a one dayer, its patchy footage. Some thing is wrong here!!!

 

[robelinda]

Not sure which stats you're looking at there.

Viv hit four tons in WSC Supertests and averages 55.69. All four tons came in the first summer when he really was dominant - his six matches yielded 862 runs at 86.2.

That being said, Chappell was even better over the full WSC experience - five tons and an average of 58.

Hang on, there were only 3 supertests in that first summer that involved WI, i thought??

EDIT, now I know where my mistake was, Viv only scored one ton for the WI in the supertests, the other 3 he got playing for the World XI, mystery over!