Sir Vivian

"Wisden Cricket Monthly" announced in May 1999 that Vivian Richards had been voted the best international cricketer of the past 25 years by his peers. Ian Botham came second and Shane Warne third. Both of them voted for Viv Richards. The most compelling and exciting batsman in the modern game, Viv Richards played for the West Indies from 1974 to 1991. He took over the captaincy from Clive Lloyd in 1985 and under his leadership West Indies became the most feared team in the world, the irresistible force of the international game. Now, seven years after his retirement from the game, Viv Richards can tell his story without fear or favour for the first time. From the early years in Antigua and as a teenager in the West Country, the story continues with the humiliation of West Indies at the hand of pace bowlers Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee and charts the successful remoulding of the West Indians into the team that dominated world cricket for nearly 20 years.