sport news Sir Viv Richards on racism, rubbing shoulders with Botham and Hurricane ... trends now
The king is in his castle. Or, more precisely, a trendy bar off Duke Street in Glasgow. Sir Vivian Richards awaits due homage from hundreds of fans.
He passes time by making astute, dignified and frankly shocking proclamations to the hoi polloi of the press. An audience with the 72-year-old cricketing legend is as spell-binding as his performances for the West Indies as a batsman so cavalier he could have come to the crease on a charger and disdained his cap for a hat with a jaunty feather.
There is, of course, more to the man. He stood up to racism, staring it down with the same cold eye that chilled fast bowlers.
He talks of racism in cricket with a power that recalls his cover drive. But there is also mischief in the king. He can speak of fish suppers at Forthill, salmon fishing with Ian Botham, and a round of golf with Alex Higgins. He can also pay tribute to an Airdrie supporter who was his friend and died in his home in Antigua.
It is much to take in as Sir Viv prepares to talk to the stage to help publicise tourism in Antigua, the island where Scotland will play in the World T20 in June at a stadium named after the great man.
The most pressing subject is racism in cricket and he is gently optimistic about the progress being made after scandals in the game in Scotland and at Yorkshire. But he knows how it once was. He was there.
Sir Viv Richards in his swashbuckling heyday with West Indies
Richards (right) speaking at event in Glasgow to promote tourism in Antigua
‘I hope cricket moves on. Who needs this as regards to any sport we are playing? The way I look at it is that, so long as you have been given life, then you are equal,’ he declares.
‘I have experienced that,’ he says of racist abuse. ‘I have been to Headingley and been on the ground when they have thrown banana skins at you.
‘I will share this with you. We were playing a semi-final match against Yorkshire at Headingley. Packed crowd. I am getting it as a black guy from the crowd, a section of the crowd. I can remember Yorkshire got whatever a total and we were in trouble but I started doing well. I nicked one, hit the cover off it. The umpire for some reason didn’t hear it.
‘I am an individual who always walked, always walked. Because of the nature of the fans, I decided I am going to stay there, man. I was 60-odd and nicked it and David Bairstow (Yorkshire wicket keeper) was going berserk, saying: “Effing cheat.” ‘I said to him: “You guys are okay. This one is not for you This is for the effed-up fans you have sitting in the crowd”.
‘We won the match. I went bang, bang. Game, set and match. They had a lynch mob waiting for me at the back of Headingley. That did not bother me. But that is sometimes the way it went. ‘
There is another story. He recalls talking to a Yorkshire cricketer he ‘once respected’. Richards declines to mention his name because the person is dead. But he tells of asking why Yorkshire did not have many players of Asian descent.
‘That individual turned to me and said: “Can you imagine, Viv, how stinking the room would be of curry on a Sunday”? That tells you.’ He is, though, pleased about the changes made at Yorkshire. ‘I am glad to see where they are at now,’ he says. He shakes his head. ‘Sport does not need any of that. Life in general does not need it.’
He makes no comment about any problem in Scotland, most probably because the controversy of institutionalised racism at Cricket Scotland, revealed in an independent report two years ago, is not a subject he knows well, if at all.
The legend makes his final Test appearance at the Oval back in 1991
Richards with his great pal Ian Botham enjoying a day on the beach
His weary recollection of abuse and his gentle optimism bring some context to a problem that is being tackled, if not overcome.
Richards also retains the ability to surprise, whether it be in tales of tragedy or triumph. Asked about Glasgow, he immediately recalls that ‘a good friend’ was from Airdrie and a fan of the Diamonds. The mirth prompted by this revelation suddenly descends into silence when he adds: ‘He is no longer with us.’
Richards adds: ‘When I first went to Taunton, an individual coming from the Caribbean into a new environment, I decided I wanted to go to
