Who is Sir Vivian Richards? A throwback to his greatest ODI of all times

There are days in the history of Cricket that leave a mark for years and years to come. Sir Vivian Richards and his Inning against England is one such day that fans will always revisit as the greatest ODI knock of all time.

Who is Sir Vivian Richards?

• Sir Vivian Richards is one of the best players to ever come in the history of International Cricket.
• Everything about him is adored, even worshipped by Fans to this date.
• His batting style was described as swagger by many. During the 1970s 80s, aggressive batting was not a common sight. But when it came to Richards batting, even the word aggressive was an understatement.
• Sir Vivian Richards never wore a helmet. He used to walk in and reduce bowlers to mere bowling machines with just a cap on.
• The crowd of 70s and 80s demanded nothing but entertainment from Richards, and he served. With a batting average of 50+ and over 8000+ test runs and 24 centuries, Richard was like a storm in the field.
• He also served as the Captain of West Indies between 1984 and 1991, during which they played 50 tests, and West Indies never lost a single series.
• Richards is also one of the four non-English batsmen to make 100 first class centuries. He played County Cricket for the Somerset Team In England.
• In 2000, Richards was renowned as one of 5 Wisden Cricketers of the century.

Richards put on a never forgetting show in 1984 against England. For the Windies and Richards, it was an exhibition of power hitting playing at Old Trafford.

The Caribbean Side Tour of 1984 was to play three ODIs and five Tests. The tour started with a three match ODI series in Manchester. West Indies gave a solid performance match after match, and for the Englishmen, it became a painfully long summer.

The first ODI match was on May 31st, 1984. To this date, that day is remembered as one of the greatest ODI innings ever. Richards shook the spirit with an unbeaten score of 189 runs.

For visitors to England, the day did not start as planned. Clive Lloyd led side was to bat first, but soon they were in a deep hole at 102/7. That day Richards played at the court position with a score of 11/2. He was required to hold the place as the top seven batsmen were already back in the pavilion.

Baptiste and Joe's Garner were quick to get dismissed, which led to England having a stronghold on the match. The victory looked almost in favour of the Englishmen, except for one big and dangerous hurdle. The last man was Michael Holding. He, along with Richards, became a power duo on the field that day. They scored 106 runs, with Richards scoring 93 of that. This helped the team to finish at 272/9 in 55 overs.

Richards, in his innings, scored an astonishing record of 189 in 170 balls. The innings included 21 fours and five sixes. West Indies won the match by 102, and the series by 2-1

When did Sir Vivian Richard start his Cricket Journey?
Sir Vivian Richards is one of the all-time best Test batsmen, and that's clearly justifiable from his playing journey.
Richards made his Test Debut in 1974 in India with an unbeaten score of 192 in his second game.
After that, in 1976, he scored over 1700 runs in 11 test matches. The score was at an average of 90 runs with seven centuries.
This record was unbeatable for around three decades after that, until Mohammad Yousuf broke it in 2006.
One of his most memorable matches was played on this day in 1986.
Richards had a strike rate of 90+ in ODIs, an accomplishment that was easy in those days. He played the World Cup for the West Indies in 1975 and 1979. West won the title in 1979 after a smashing century by Richards.