2 yesteryear batsmen who would have wreaked havoc in today’s times
The cricket aficionados have watched the might of West Indies in the 1970s and 80s; witnessed the Australians dominate the world cricket in the 1990s before India took the mantle in the early 2000s. Each era had its own star bowlers and batsmen. But, only a few of them were the best of all time. According to the popular opinion, the two batsmen who played in the 1970s and 80s were superior to most of the players we see today.
Let us discuss both of them.
#2. Vivian Richards
Vivian Richards was macho and suave, both in looks and batting. He made his debut against India in 1974 and announced his arrival with aplomb by scoring 192 not out. His batting style was extravagant and aggressive. Richards was probably the first batsman to look into the eyes of fast bowlers and challenge them to have a go at him. Like Sunil Gavaskar, he never wore a helmet and yet played the pull and hook shots to perfection.
Richards could dispatch a ball from outside the off-stump to square leg for a six and then play an elegant square cut of the same ball. The interviews of most of the fast bowlers like Lillee, Thomson, Imran, Akram, and others show their admiration for him.
He was brutal but never lost the grip of his technique. His duel with Lillee is folklore in the annals of cricket history. All throughout his career, he batted against Thomson, Lillee, Imran, Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev, Bishan Bedi, and others who were the best in the business. If he played against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Amir, James Anderson, Kuldeep Yadav, and other such bowlers, he would have scored an obscene amount of runs.
Richards played when the West Indies had batsmen like Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Clive Lloyd, and others. He did not get sufficient time in test cricket and ODIs to display his talent and conviction. One can be sure he would have added a few thousand runs to his batting statistics, had he batted long enough.