For most people born the right side of 1950, Sir Vivian Richards is the greatest batsman of them all. Statistics can convey many things but not the aura that surrounded him and the sheer magnificence of his batting. Richards was also the proudest of competitors, and through the sheer intensity of his performances he became as much an icon for his race as Tommie Smith and John Carlos with their Black Power salutes. Now the West Indies chairman of selectors, he spoke to Wisden Asia Cricket in Colombo about his earliest influences, the sense of pride that made West Indies such an irresistible force, and the celebrated sense of aggression that allowed him to take on, and master, some of the fastest bowlers of his generation. Excerpts from the interview: On his influences
"I was a very keen boxer in my youth and though almost everyone of that era idolised [Muhammad] Ali, [Joe] Frazier was the guy for me. I just admired his power, courage, attitude and his whole approach to boxing. I think Lawrence Rowe gave me the nickname Smokin' Joe when we came to India in 1974. It was also because I possessed a similar sort of build.

"... I was always a reader and I developed a huge amount of respect for Martin Luther King and his non-violent ideals, his way of trying to achieve some sort of resolution. Then of course, there was Malcolm X and his belief in 'action on all fronts by whatever means necessary'. I carried that with me a long time, and do so even now."

On pride and respect
"When I went to England as a young man, there were questions in people's minds about whether we had the ability to succeed, or the brains and capacity to fulfil our potential. I felt at times that people took us for granted in some ways, not fully aware of our background, and knowing little or nothing of our culture. When you don't have respect for a culture, it's difficult to respect individuals too. For someone like myself, who came from one of the colonies, getting respect was the biggest incentive of all.

"... I still remember, before I first went to England, everyone said, 'Oh, these guys are used to playing on perfect tracks and when they come to England, and these conditions, they'll struggle.' They thought of us as these strange creatures from a warm climate, who would come to the cold and shrivel up like little kittens."

On competitiveness
"Australia in 1975-76 ... It definitely taught us a thing or two about being competitive. We had just come back from a tour of India, where we had narrowly won 3-2, and my performances there gave me the opportunity to go to Australia and have a first look at the pace and aggression of Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Gary Gilmour and Max Walker. We were also up against crowds who were fully and solely behind their team. The conditions were very different and the wickets were some of the quickest I ever played on.

"Some of us were a little naïve. We left home thinking this game was supposed to be a gentleman's game and we arrived in Australia to find how competitive and intense it could be. A guy would nick a ball and he wouldn't walk. He would just look at the umpire and wait for him to make up his mind. Having played a little in England, you expected guys to walk because of the so-called gentlemanly nature of things. But it was nothing like that. There were guys swearing at us, calling us all sorts of names. We were in a totally different environment and I quickly told myself that this was what cricket was all about, and we had to get our act together. We had to, to survive and survive well."

On his battles with Dennis Lillee
"Dennis is a legend and I have an enormous amount of respect for him. He had this way of intimidating batsmen because he had this huge moustache and he was a very fit, strapping guy … I knew guys who were afraid of certain bowlers and hid their personal aggression as a result. They were scared of what someone like Dennis had to offer. Some guys didn't like the body language – the way he stood mid-pitch and stared a bit too long. Dennis was always in your face. I didn't mind that. The more aggression that came my way, the more I tapped into my own sense of aggression, which I then gave back.

"... I just loved that kind of scenario. There was this simple thing I worked out early. Whenever a bowler gets you out, even if it's for a duck, it's such a brief moment. Bang! And then it's over. That moment represents such a tiny portion of your career. But if you had the ability to bat, like Sachin Tendulkar with all his shots around the wicket, and you stayed in the middle long enough, you could really hurt the bowler. You could spend hours out there. He'd have to see your face all the time and watch the ball disappear to the boundary on a regular basis. That is your time to be proud and it lasts far longer than it does for a bowler."

For the full interview, get your copy of Wisden Asia Cricket, November 2002

Dileep Premachandran is an assistant editor with Wisden Asia Cricket and Wisden.com in India

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