Viv Richards
June 2000
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander
Richards is bewildered these days. Here is a man, who in his playing
days had refused 1.5 million pounds, because he was, and remains, a man
of principle. It is an open secret that at the height of apartheid, Ali
Bacher, United Cricket Board of South Africa Managing Director now,
offered Richards the staggering amount to play in South Africa. It took
the great man just a second to refuse that offer. Richards bemoans the
fact that today's cricketers are in a hurry to make it big. "There
are no shortcuts to success," he says in this interview to
CricketNext.Com's Tapan Joshi.
Q: What is your reaction to the match-fixing allegations?
A: It is shocking. I was never, ever approached to throw away a game.
There was a lot of national pride in our days.
Q: You have toured the sub-continent quite a few times as a
player. Did you ever noticed anything fishy?
A: As I said, nobody ever approached me. However, a few shady characters
were around a lot of time when we toured India.
Q: How do you view cricket overall these days?
A: Oh! It's changed a lot. You see guys these days sledging, saying a
lot of things to the opposition. I think the secret of the Australians'
success in the recent times is they have developed pressure tactics into
a winning art. They are masters at applying mental pressure.
Q: Do you agree with the suggestion that this Indian team lacks
mental toughness?
A: I do. There is no dearth of talent in the Indian team. One should
give as good as one gets out there in the middle. Body language counts
for a lot. I'll never forget watching Javagal Srinath apologising to
Australia's Ricky Ponting in the Sydney Test for having struck him on
the arm and the batsman's response which made Srinath cringe. Srinath
was never the same after that.
Q: The West Indies cricketers too seem to be facing a similar
problem...
A: The wrong sort of guys are running the game in the West Indies. It
hurts when the sacrifice of our principled cricketers, who resisted
lucrative offers from South Africa during the days of apartheid, come to
nought. Also, at the moment, the West Indies is missing the services of
Brian Lara.
Q: But why do you think such a situation has arisen in the West
Indies? Is it because the youngsters are attracted to other sports?
A: Our administrators lack commitment, our selectors are out of touch
with the modern game. It was sad to see a person of the standing of
Clive Lloyd ousted as manager unceremoniously. I don't believe in the
rubbish that our boys prefer basketball or soccer to cricket. The
problem with our cricket is lack of infrastructure and facilities.
Q: If you had the chance, would you like to get involved with the
Indian cricket?
A: Well, I'd be more than happy to help mentally toughen your lads.
Q: What advice would you like to give to budding cricketers?
A: There are no shortcuts to success. Hard work and discipline are a
must if you want to make it big.