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Viv Richards Height, Weight, Age, Girlfriend, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Viv Richards

Bio/Wiki
Full NameSir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards
Nickname(s)Viv, Master Blaster, Smokin Joe, Smokey, King Viv, The Emperor
ProfessionFormer West Indian Cricketer
Viv Richards played for West Indies
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)in centimeters- 178 cm
in meters- 1.78 m
in feet inches- 5’ 10”
Weight (approx.)in kilograms- 80 kg
in pounds- 176 lbs
Body Measurements (approx.)- Chest: 42 inches
- Waist: 35 inches
- Biceps: 13 inches
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourBlack
Cricket
International DebutODI- Vs Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on 07 June 1975
Test- Vs India at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on 22 November 1974
First Class DebutIn January 1972 for the Leeward Islands against the Windwards
Cap NumberTest- 151
ODI- 14
Domestic/State TeamsCombined Islands (1971-1981)
Leeward Islands (1971-1991)
Somerset (1974-1986)
Queensland (1976-1977)
Glamorgan (1990-1993)
Nature on FieldAggressive
Loved to Play AgainstEngland, Australia
Coach/MentorHis brothers Mervyn and Donald
Favourite ShotHook
Records (main ones)• First batsman to score a Test century at a strike rate of over 150 (1986)
• highest individual ODI score when batting at number 4 position (189*) (1984)
• First cricketer to score a fifty and to take a five wicket haul in the same ODI
• First player to score a century as well as to take a five wicket haul in the same ODI match
• First player to complete 1000 runs and taking 50 wickets in ODI history
Awards, Honours, Achievements • Wisden Cricketer of the Year (1977)
• Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1994)
• Knight of the Order of the National Hero (1999)
Career Turning PointWhen he made unbeaten 192 against India in 1974 in New Delhi
Personal Life
Date of Birth7 March 1952
Age (as in 2018) 66 Years
BirthplaceSt. John's, British Leeward Islands (Now, Antigua and Barbuda)
Zodiac sign/Sun signPisces
Signature Viv Richards signature
NationalityAntiguan
HometownSt. John's
Schools• St. John's Boys Primary School, St. John's, Antigua
• Antigua Grammar School, Antigua
College/UniversityDid Not Attend
ReligionCristianity
Food HabitNon-Vegetarian
HobbiesPlaying and Watching Football and Cricket, Listening to Music, Watching Movies
Girls, Affairs, and More
Marital StatusMarried
Affairs/GirlfriendsNeena Gupta (In the late 1980s)
Viv Richards and Neena Gupta
Family
Wife/SpouseMiriam
Viv Richards with his Family
ChildrenSons- Mali Richards (Cricketer), Matara Richards (Cricketer)
Sons of Viv Richards at left and right with his father and Virat Kohli
Daughter- Masaba Gupta (Costume Designer)
Viv Richards with his daughter
ParentsFather- Malcom Richards (First Class Cricketer)
Mother- Gretel Richards
SiblingsBrother- Donald Richards (Half) (First Class Cricketer), Mervyn Richards (Football Player)
Brothers of Viv Richards
Sister- None
Favourite Things
Favourite CricketersBatsman- Sachin Tendulkar
Bowler- Wasim Akram
All-Rounders- Dwayne Bravo, Ian Botham
Favourite Football ClubLiverpool F.C.
Money Factor
Net Worth (approx.)$20 million

Viv Richards

Some Lesser Known Facts About Viv Richards

  • Does Viv Richards smoke?: YesViv Richards smoking
  • Does Viv Richards drink alcohol?: Yes
  • When he was born, Antigua was a dependent territory of Britain, formerly known as the British Leeward Islands.
  • He started playing cricket at a very young age.
  • His brothers, Mervyn and Donald were cricketers and played as the amateur cricketers for Antigua. They encouraged him to the cricket.
  • In the beginning, he used to practice with his father and uncle.
  • When he was 18 years old, he left school and started to work at D’Arcy’s Bar and Restaurant in St. John’s.
  • Owner of the restaurant, D’Arcy Williams, helped him a lot and provided him with new whites, pads, gloves, and a bat.
  • He spent some seasons with St. John’s cricket club, later, he joined Rising Sun Cricket Club.
  • During his era, he was considered most powerful batsman with an extremely attacking style.
  • He was very famous for punishing the bowlers who dared to sledge him, for an instance, during a county match against Glamorgan, bowler Greg Thomas taunted him ‘its red, round and it’s about five ounces’ after Richards missed few deliveries. Richards hit the next ball for six out of the stadium into the nearby river and commented ‘you know what it looks like, now go and find it.’
  • In 1981, his book, Hitting Across the Line, was published. In the book, he described how his whole life got around sports, particularly Cricket.

    Viv Richards' Autobiography

    Viv Richards’ Autobiography

  • In 1983, Richards tore up a blank cheque given to him by the South African Cricket board to play for a rebel West Indies team touring apartheid South Africa.
  • From 1984 to 1991, he captained West Indies for 50 test matches and won 27 of them, only 8 lost.
  • On 31 May 1984, playing an ODI match against England, he rescued West Indies from a very precarious situation, he scored his career’s highest score of 189 runs. He made 106 runs partnership with the last batsman of the team, who scored only 12 runs.

    Viv Richards playing a shot during his 189

    Viv Richards playing a shot during his 189

  • One of the most interesting facts about his 17 years long cricket career is that he never wore a helmet while batting.
  • In 2000, a 100-member panel of experts named him among the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. He got 25 votes, behind Sir Donald Bradman (100 votes), Sir Garfield Sobers (90 votes), Sir Jack Hobbs (30 votes), and Shane Warne (27 votes).
  • In 2010, he was featured in a documentary movie Fire in Babylon and spoke about his experiences playing for the West Indies.

  • Richards is often heard on BBC’s radio programme ‘Test Match Special‘.
  • He became the mentor of Delhi Daredevils for the 2013 IPL.
  • He has also mentored the Quetta Gladiators in Pakistan Super League from 2016 to 2018. 
  • The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua has been named in his honour.
  • Viv Richards and English Cricketer Ian Botham are very good friends, they have been friends for more than a decade. He is also a godfather to Botham’s child Liam.