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 the cinema. This guy was there and came up and introduced himself. That was it.’ The man was Peter ‘Jock’ McCombe, who was a ‘fixer’ for Richards and his friend and team-mate, Ian Botham. ‘It was unfortunate the way his life ended because he died when he was on vacation in Antigua, in my house. He was only 43. He was a great fan of Airdrie. He went to one of the resorts, came back and that was it. ‘He was involved in cricket. Anything we wanted done he took care of it, especially with the schedule being as busy as it can be, having such an individual was so cool. He was someone in life who you cherish.’ The aftermath of that sudden death is recalled by the great cricketer. ‘When I got home, I can remember I could see the evidence in the terms of the ambulance etc.’ The mood changes dramatically as Richards is pressed to remember more upbeat memories of Scotland. There is the story of the match at Forthill against Forfar in July 1980. It includes a game of tennis and fish suppers. Richards was summoned from the former when the West Indies were in batting trouble. The latter was the emergency culinary replacement when Clive Lloyd, the West Indian captain, said his lads did not fancy a salad. Richards struggles to remember precise details but suggests both elements are true. ‘It could happen that,’ he says of the summons from the tennis court. ‘Richie (Sir Richard Richardson) used to get involved in these lengthy tennis games with me so that could have been.’ And the meal? Told that he scored 69 and the Windies won by 80 runs, he says: ‘The fish supper must have worked.’ He is similarly jaunty when recalling salmon fishing with Botham on the Tay and golf with Higgins at a pro-am at St Andrews. The angling was not a joy. ‘It was boring with the long welly boots,’ he says. ‘Waiting for a bite. What I enjoyed more than anything else was, when Ian caught something, it was always the best eat. When you eat something someone else catches, it tastes better than your own.’ And on coming into contact with the mayhem that was Hurricane Higgins? ‘Yes, I played with him. Oh, man. May God bless his soul, he was a lively guy,’ he says of the Northern Irishman who died in 2010. ‘Later on — because I had met him — I followed his career and saw him at the snooker table and saw how fidgety he was. He was like that on the golf course. He could not keep still. He was moving everywhere. He was a complex personality but I found him a nice man.’ Legends Botham and Richard at a golfing event in New Zealand in 2015 The great striker of a cricket ball, though, has been chastened by the game featuring the smaller variety. ‘Golf certainly humbles you,’ he says. ‘You think because you are a ball player you can do the same thing. The ball is standing still so you can just whack it anywhere you like. You would think it would be easier but it is not. I have so much respect for golfers. There is time to steer the great man back towards cricket and the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup to be hosted by the West Indies and the USA in June. He believes Scotland have a puncher’s chance. ‘It is great to see teams from the so-called lower ranks and where they are at,’ he says. ‘I think the dimension of the game has changed big time. The introduction of T20 has given more teams - teams who are not normally fancied - the chance to have a day, too. If the other team does not turn up, they can have a chance. T20 gives the opportunity for something to happen. Teams not really fancied can create an upset. We have seen that a few times. There are times when they will be able to get there. And Scotland have got to Antigua by beating some teams so it’s all good. ‘The only thing we have to guard your guys against is that I know you make some of the best whisky in the world here but, in Antigua. we make some of the best rum in the world. You guys have got to be careful.’ The West Indies on cricket terms have suffered a long-term hangover from the great sides of the 1970s and 1980s who reeked of distilled genius. ‘I honesty believe we created a legacy, a serious legacy, and that legacy has deteriorated somewhat along the way,’ says Richards. ‘Now we have the T20 tournaments that give us the opportunity to show our faces a bit more. Not maybe in Test matches. Any limited-over tournaments we will be okay but we still have work to do in the longer form.’ With that, the court of the king has to move on. Another audience awaits. As he rises regally, there is more than a glimpse of the wonderful athlete of the past. He is looking more than well. ‘Thank God for that. I am very thankful and I try my best to keep myself as fit as possible. It is important. I always maintain that you look at past sportsmen and people can say: “That guy used to play sport” and he looks…’ He makes an expression suggesting someone out of shape. ‘I try my best,’ he says. He always did, whether facing racists, fast bowlers or fish suppers. It was always more than enough. All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility