Dr. Ali Bacher, the brain behind the Rebel Tests, offered him a blank cheque. Richards refused – a decision that earned him worldwide praise at that time.
Today is the 69th birthday of one of the greatest cricketers of all time. The West Indies batting line-up of the 1970s and 1980s was one of the most formidable in history, but Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards stood out even among them.
And that was not all. The impact of King Viv – as they call him – stretches beyond the cricket ground. A strong voice against racism, Richards often donned a sweatband with the Rastafari tricolour when he strode out to bat.
Martin Luther King Jr had begun his Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. The wave had spread to the sporting arena. During the 1968 Olympics, in Mexico City, African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos won, respectively, gold and bronze at the 200-meter running event. They did a Black Power Salute at the podium. Muhammad Ali and Bob Marley emerged as Black icons. And then, there were the cricketers from the Caribbean.
South Africa were banned from international cricket – and in other fields – for most of the 1970s and 1980s. The South Africans tried to lure overseas teams to play cricket for substantial amounts of money. There was little doubt that the West Indians were the biggest attraction. There was a huge demand for cricketers in a country where dehumanisation of the coloured population was legal.
In the 1980s, two West Indian sides toured South Africa for the Rebel Tests. They were not legally eligible to fraternise with the White population. To overcome this, they were branded ‘Honorary Whites’ by the South African government.
Source: Twitter (ICC)
Richards was offered an astronomical $1 million by a businessman to play in South Africa. Dr. Ali Bacher, the brain behind the Rebel Tests, offered him a blank cheque. Richards refused – a decision that earned him worldwide praise at that time. The news reached Nelson Mandela in his prison cell. Such was the impact of Richards’ decision that even Ian Botham declined to tour South Africa: he would not have been able to face Richards later.
With the willow in hand, too, Richards had made a strong statement against any kind of racial undertone. Many of his greatest performances came against England. Ahead of the 1976 tour of England, Tony Greig – of South African origin – had infamously threatened to make the West Indies ‘grovel’. Along with the fast bowlers, Richards led the response, slamming 829 runs in seven innings including his career-best 291. Greig, leader of a battered, bruised unit, grovelled apologetically during the last Test match in front of the huge West Indies contingency in the gallery.
Richards scored 8,540 runs in Test cricket at 50.23 with 24 hundreds, dominating virtually every opposition he played. In ODIs, his average of 47 and strike rate of 90 are impressive even by today’s standards. He was an excellent fielder to boot and took 150 international wickets.
His swagger as he strode out to bat, complete with chewing gum and the maroon cap, remains one of cricket’s most famous sights. Richards never wore a helmet: ‘The passion for the game I felt was such that I wouldn’t mind dying playing something that I love. If this is what I chose and I go down here, what better way is there to go.’
This is the 30th year since the retirement of Viv Richards from international cricket. He remains one of the most respected voices on any matter related to cricket. His exceptional records have earned him a place among cricket’s greats, but Richards the person was probably a notch above that – and that is saying something.