Viv Richards on Gilly's century at Perth

---

What with Adam Gilchrist predicting one day scores of 400+, the Sydney Morning Herald has somewhat appropriately interviewed Viv Richards about Adam Gilchrist's whirlwind century at Perth where he missed out on breaking Viv's fastest Test century by one ball:

"He woke me out of my sleep, man. Someone said to me that he was going great guns. It was very special. Things like that I love to see. You could say that I had a bad year in terms of holding onto records. There was Mohammad Yousuf and then Gilly came within one ball. I have always been an individual who wants to see the game move forward. Cricket is alive and well when that is happening.

I loved that innings from Gilly … Doing what he did, scoring one of the fastest hundreds, at a time when you're at your lowest and not in the best of form, it goes to show you what he's about. He's a powerful player. It's not the ability, it's how mentally strong you are. He is a mentally strong guy to overcome what he did. To have accomplished what he did after that, he was not going to do it with a weak mind. Just the way he played, the way he went after the bowling was brilliant. He was a guy saying, 'This is how I play, I am going to back my style.' I loved it."

It's always hard to compare players across eras and maybe I suffer somewhat from "the good ol' days" syndrome. But there's never been anyone who quite dominates the crease like Viv Richards, with his chest puffed out, swaggering around, chewing gum. Maybe Kevin Pietersen comes close. It's like comparing Lillee to McGrath. Pigeon has it over Fot statistically but I just can't go past fond childhood memories of Lillee pushing in from the sightboard on the long run, shirt unbuttoned to his belly button, the bling, the attitude, the crouching appeal. They just don't make 'em like that anymore. I'll probably say the same thing about Gilly 20 years from now.

---

Posted by JC on Fri 19 Jan

7 comments

Viv is the king. The WI were just awesome in their day. They seemed to bat down to 9 or 10 -- just like the Aussies do today. The bowling attacks are dead different though. WI inspired fear whereas the Aussie attack seems to be more about uncertainty and being relentless.

---

Posted by TA on 2007-01-19 11:50:47

I wonder how Malcolm Marshall's speed compares to Brett Lee's. Binga is quick but he doesn't seem to inspire the same "I may die on the next delivery" thoughts in the batsmen that came from Malcolm Marshall back then (could have something to do with helmets maybe). I remember reading some story where Marshall got a batsman to play and miss a few times then said something like 'you better nick one soon or I'll have to bowl around the wicket and kill you'. Now that's sledging - just a cold hearted statement of fact :-)

---

Posted by JC on 2007-01-19 12:50:35

Marshall was my personal favourite -- I don't think I have seen any one sprint into bowl as quick as he did since. Holding was reputed to be the fastest of the lot, wasn't he?

---

Posted by TA on 2007-01-19 13:04:09

Holding was called "whispering death". A lot cooler nickname than "Pigeon", you'd have to say.

---

Posted by JC on 2007-01-19 13:21:18

Whispering Death; neither the umpire or non-striking batsman (the lucky one!) could hear his approach to the crease. I think Holding was a champion athlete as a youngster, middle distance running. That a bowler so quick and talented could approach the crease so quietly would be eerie!!
He was definitely my pick of the WI quicks; now a great commentator. Think he'd be a lovely fellow to boot.

---

Posted by Dan Tas on 2007-01-19 18:27:39

yes malcom marshall was a terror and all were afraid of his bowling.It was too difficult to play him on any pitch.

He was a few yards faster then bret lee i suppose .He had more variety like inswingers,outswingers,later cutters,bouncers etc etc

---

Posted by ss on 2007-12-15 20:02:51

I would say King Viv was the king of them all. He generated terror on the field and made the bowlers look like lilliputs. His swagger, walk, disdainful attitude, supreme confidence and fearless look made him a peerless player beyond compare for all ages. The way he used to maul bowlers without a helmet (remember, in his time, there were frightening quicks galore, - perhaps the most in history) made him a delight to savour.

When will such a player come along? His very presence used to shake the ground and made the crowd swell in numbers.

Ask the quicks of his time – from D K to Procky, Thommo, Hadlee, Kaps, Hoggy, Pasoce, Snowy and his ex-comrades Andy, Mickey, Big Bird, Crofty and of course the late Macko plus Sylvester. They will say ‘Oh! NO not him again…”, they dreaded him and his sword of destruction.

Those halcyon days are gone; perhaps we can rewind them again in God’s kingdom. What a fab era it was then? Macko is gone, and King Viv is getting on in age. Get going, Sir KING Viv and thanks for the fun and memories, King VIV.

---

Posted by BILIGIRI RANGA on 2008-04-19 22:40:38

Post New Comment

You need to be logged in to post a comment. If you're new, register here. Existing users, login via the right margin.