Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, popularly known as Viv Richards and Vivian Richards, was one of those flamboyant cricketers whom bowlers all around the world feared as he can torn any bowling attack on his day.

The ever-attacking batsman made his Test match debut for the West Indian cricket team in 1974 against India in Bangalore and scored 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches at an average of 50.23 (including 24 centuries). Voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, Vivian Richards was a very powerful right-handed batsman with an extremely attacking style. The West Indian cricketer was an excellent fielder and a handy off-spin bowler. The best thing about this legend was that he played his entire career (1974-1991) without a helmet.

The supremacy of this master batsman can be easily identified by the fact that some of the world’s leading cricketers of all times like Barry Richards, Martin Crowe, Ravi Shastri, Wasim Akram, and Neil Fairbrother, he was the best batsman they ever faced or saw. Richards was also voted the greatest cricketer since 1970. His fearless and aggressive style of play and a variety of cricket shots along with a relaxed and determined demeanor made him a great crowd favorite.

Vivian Richards was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to cricket in the year 1994 and subsequently made a Knight of the Order of the National Hero (KNH) by his native country Antigua and Barbuda in the year 1999.

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