Former West Indies’ pacer and renowned commentator Michael Holding recently revealed the best batsman he has seen and to not anyone’s surprise, the answer was his former teammate Sir Vivian Richards. The right-handed batsman boasts off a sensational record at the international cricket is nothing but sensational. Holding also heaped praises on the Caribbean star and said he gave a tough time to prominent bowlers across the globe and proved his mettle in all conditions. Be it spin or swing, Richards didn’t look vulnerable against any challenge and his mountain of his are the proof of his prowess. This Day, That Year: When Sir Vivian Richards Scored the Then Fastest Test Century off 56-Balls Against England in 1986.

Courtesy his aggressive batting style, Richards was known to have redefined batting back in the 90’s and destroyed many potent bowling line-ups in his illustrious career. While explaining the reason behind choosing Rchards, Holding said that he didn’t look intimated against the best of bowlers. "Viv is the best batsman I have seen against anything and everything. He never looked intimidated. Richard Hadlee in New Zealand, Dennis Lillee in Australia, Abdul Qadir in Pakistan, Bishan Bedi in India. Ian Botham in England. He got runs against anybody and everybody,” said Holding in a podcast with Stuart Broad and Shaun Pollock for Sky Sports.

Speaking of Richards’s numbers in international run, the talismanic batsman scored 8540 runs in 121 Test matches at an astonishing average of over 50. In ODIs, the star batsman piled up 6721 runs from 187 games at 47. The jaw-dropping fact was his strike rate with was 86.07 in Tests and 90.2 in ODIs which was extraordinary back in that era.

“He destroyed a lot of bowlers in the Caribbean. He didn’t have to play against four West Indies bowlers at once but he played against us (domestically) and he got runs against each team,” he added.

Holding also revealed Viv Richards’ unique approach ahead of going into bat. “As he was batting at No 3 for West Indies, I often saw him watch the first couple of overs, get a visual picture, and then go and sleep,” said the veteran of 249 Test wickets.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 17, 2020 10:43 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).