The original ‘master blaster’. And for some, still the most destructive batsman the game has seen. Sir Viv Richards has left a legacy in cricket that has lasted generations and will continue to do so for years to come.
It is said no one hit the ball harder than Richards. It is difficult to gauge that objectively but he did give us a glimpse of his explosive abilities on April 15, 1986, where he cracked the then fastest century in Test cricket – a record that stood for three decades.
The venue was St John’s, Antigua and the opponents England. The mighty Windies were on a roll, storming to a 4-0 lead in the five-match series. Their opponents were down and out, barely keeping their heads up.
But if the visitors thought the punishment was over, they were mistaken. The Windies batted first and posted 474, which England challenged valiantly by making 310. It was now up to the hosts to bat quickly and give their bowlers as many overs as possible to take 10 wickets in the final innings.
But just how quickly? Surely even Caribbean fans would not have expected the carnage that was to unfold. Richards hit the afterburners straightaway, smashing seven fours and as many sixes as he raced to three figures in a record 56 balls.
Granted, Ian Botham was the only established bowler in England’s line-up, but many lesser bowling line-ups have played on flatter wickets since but no one achieved what Richards did that day.
His turbo-charged knock allowed West Indies to declare the innings on 246-2 in 43 overs. That gave the Windies enough time to bowl out the opposition inside 80 overs to complete their second sweep over England in 18 months.
Later Graham Gooch recalled that incredible innings for Wisden, writing: "There was a prison just outside the ground, and you could see the bars at the top of the prison.
"Viv was bombarding the prison, and some of the prisoners were going wild, rattling their metal plates and cups against the bars. Every one of our bowlers was going around the park. Botham was bowling to him with three men back on the hook and Viv was putting it over their heads regularly.”
This week, Sir Viv said it was the highlight of his illustrious career.
“I have always felt playing at home as a kid on the island and then going back to playing Test matches and scoring the fastest 100 in front of the people was pretty special,” he told Shane Watson on the latter’s podcast.
“All the stuff from old days would come to mind and you would feel ‘I have really arrived now’. From being in kindergarten to being adult and playing for your beloved West Indies.”
That record stood for 30 years before New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum smashed a 54-ball ton against Australia.
