Viv won’t stop WI criticism

LONDON: West Indies batting legend Sir Vivian Richards has hit back at the Wisden-Cricketer editorial which recently accused him of undermining the West Indies team. This was during their recently concluded dismal tour of England which saw them going down 4-0 in the Test series. British newspaper The Voice reported this week that Sir Viv had responded to the accusation. In the scathing editorial headlined, “Take out the snipers” Wisden-Cricketer editor John Stern said criticism of the current West Indies team and captain Brian Lara by former greats including Sir Vivian, was far more damaging than helpful. “The most helpful thing Viv Richards and other legends of the Caribbean can do is retreat to a safe distance and let the current West Indies team get on with it,” Stern wrote.

Sir Vivian, who won 27 of 50 matches as West Indies captain and scored 8,540 runs in a 121 Test match career had told the BBC: “The side is in a bad way, and when you have a leader who cannot motivate, you have problems.” But in an interview with the Voice of Sport, the man known as “Master Blaster” stood by his remarks. “Everyone has their opinion. I have nothing further to say on the matter. The people who have made these statements are highly qualified to make them so I’m not bothered about that and I’ll make them again if necessary. Because deep down nobody can question my commitment to West Indies cricket,” Richards said. “There is no one individual or two individuals who are bigger than West Indies cricket and that’s it. I have nothing more to say. I’ve made some comments but I can’t control how people interpret it them,” Sir Vivian stated. (CMC)