Viv Richard's performances against Pak in 1980-81 Test series.
As far as batsmen are concerned - to me - it is about a couple of things - performing against a great attack, and thriving in conditions where rest of one's teammates have wilted away
Blanket stats like for example average against Aus in Aus etc. don't mean much to me unless I know what the exact conditions were & who the individuals were in the opposition.
For example, if we compare Viv Richard's first Test series in Australia in 1975-76 with his last Test series in Australia in 1988-89.
On paper, Viv scored 426 runs @ average of 39 in 1975-76, and 446 runs @ average of 56 in 1988-89.
Although on paper Viv's performance in 88-89 Aus series was much better, to me there is no comparison.
I'd put his performance in 75-76 series (particularly in the last 4 Test matches of the series) way above his 88-89 series, simply because batting was far tougher for West Indies in 75-76.
In his last 4 Test matches of the 75-76 series, against Lillee & Thommo in their prime, Viv scored 402 runs @ average of 50.25 and at a strike rate of 80 runs per 100 balls (unheard of - in those days).
In those 4 matches, he scored nearly 100 runs more than the next best batsman. And that was just the second away Test tour of Viv's career.
Coming to Viv's 80-81 Test series against Pak, few things stand out. West Indies innings total never reached 300 in the entire series.
Viv scored 364 runs at an average of 73. Next best batting average was tailender Sylvester Clarke with avg of 34.
No other West Indian batsman averaged above 30.
These figures however do not do justice to the visual impact of Viv's performances, especially in Multan Test.
Imran tore through the West Indian top order, but Viv just went after him. It was incredible watching a great batsman going after a great fast bowler in Test match cricket.
Viv went on to score an unbeaten 120, next highest score was Larry Gomes who chipped in with 30+ runs.
In Faisalabad, Viv scored twin 50s in both the innings while, none of his teammates (and practically the entire opposition too) crossed 50 in both the innings.
As far as West Indian batting was concerned, Viv was the only reason West Indies squeezed through that series with Pak.
