Sharing a light moment, West Indies cricket legend Vivian Richards, who was in Guwahati for a promotional event, said how he scored a 50-ball 130 after getting drunk on the previous night during a county match in England.
“I did something which I was not supposed to do being a sportsperson. I took a drink too many with Ian Botham during the night. Apparently, I was supposed to play the next day. And maybe because of the previous night, I couldn’t see the ball. I just missed everything. Then, the bowler (Thomas Greg) came up to me and said ‘Hey Viv, the ball is red, round and whatever ounces’. That was the sort stuff,” Viv told journalists amidst laughter in Guwahati.
And that was it. The next ball, he hit it so hard that the ball went to the river which was near the stadium at Taunton.
“As because I missed the three previous deliveries, he bowled it little straighter. I hit it, though, with eyes closed. It went to the river nearby. After that the bowler didn’t want to look into my eyes. But as a competitor, I ran up to him and said… ‘Hey Greg, you know the shape, size and colour of the ball…go and help them find it’. That was the end of the day…I remember after that he was totally demolished. I scored around 130 in around 50 balls,” said Viv Richards in his typical flamboyant manner.
Viv is a brand ambassador for Manipal’s American University of Antigua College of Medicine and is currently on a India tour.
