Richards the record-breaker

No. 3: Viv Richards, New Zealand v West Indies, Dunedin, 1986-87
When the West Indies took on New Zealand in a one-day international in March 1987 it saw them return to Dunedin for the first time since the acrimonious Test of 1979, when Colin Croft had barged into umpire Fred Goodall and Michael Holding kicked down John Parker's stumps in protest after a decision went against him. Tensions were running high in 1987 too - at Christchurch four days earlier New Zealand had become the first team to beat the West Indies in three days play since Australia at Port-of-Spain in 1965, bowling them out for just 100 in their first innings. The result squared the Test series, and added extra incentive to the one-day rubber that was about to begin.

Viv Richards had had a quiet tour, with only 77 runs in the three Tests, on the back of a disappointing series against Pakistan. His slapdash second-innings dismissal at Christchurch had typified the team's lacklustre approach, caught behind cutting at Martin Snedden after taking five fours off the first seven balls he faced from Richard Hadlee. He had argued with Goodall in the second Test, and at 35, it seemed that age was finally beginning to catch up with him after the phenomenal achievements of the previous 12 years. To that point he had scored 6472 runs from 88 Tests at an average of 52.61 since his debut in late1974, while his record in the one-day game was just as fearsome, with 5063 runs from 128 games at 52.18. In recent times though, he had not looked the force of old.

However, Richards appeared stung by the criticism his side received after Chris tchurch, and determined to prove the doubters wrong. He strode out to bat at Dunedin with the West Indies struggling somewhat on 50 for 3 after the Kiwis put them in. They had lost Desmond Haynes leg-before to Hadlee without a run on the board, and Greenidge and Richardson were also back in the pavilion. At the other end was Carl Hooper, a debutant, and he is unlikely to ever forget his introduction to international cricket. Hooper made a creditable 48 in their partnership of 120, but the limelight belonged to Richards. He struck 119 from 113 balls, with four sixes and ten fours, before he was eventually held by Hadlee off the bowling of Martin Crowe. It was his ninth ODI hundred, and it speaks volumes that his score was more than half of the team's total of 237.

He wasn't finished. New Zealand faced an uphill task on what was proving a difficult pitch to bat on, and a tight spell from Joel Garner had yielded the wicket of Crowe after McSweeney had been run-out. With an attack that boasted Garner, Patrick Patterson, Courtney Walsh and Tony Gray, not many would have picked Richards to be the West Indies' destroyer-in-chief with the ball as well. Generally a capable bowler- Richards had 69 ODI wickets to his name at 36.76- here he was lethal, removing first John Wright and running through the middle-order with his slow-medium swing to finish with 5 for 41. It ensured New Zealand did not get close to their target, guiding the West Indies to a 95-run victory. It was his first one-day five-wicket haul and meant that he became the first person in ODIs to score a century and take five wickets in the same match. More importantly for Richards and the West Indies it showed the cricket world that there was life in the old dog yet.

What he said at the time
Sir Viv on one-day cricket, "One-day cricket is like fast food. No-one wants to cook".

How the media reported it
"A magnificent all-round performance from Richards, who became the first player to score a hundred and take five-wickets in a one-day international, overshadowed all else," Wisden's take on Richards' achievement.

Hindsight
Looking back on his career, it is clear that Richards' phenomenal powers were on the wane. From this point on he would average only 36.04 in his final 59 ODI matches, bringing his career average down to 47. Ironically his bowling improved, and he would claim six wickets against India in an ODI in 1989. His Test output diminished also- he averaged 43 from his final 34 Tests, but he continued to be an influential figure until his retirement from international cricket in 1991, finishing with 8540 runs at 50.23 in 121 Tests. Much has been written about the West Indies decline in recent years, and its start can be traced back to this period. Paul Collingwood's cricketing persona could hardly contrast further from Richards' but no other person achieved what Viv managed at Dunedin until Collingwood surpassed it with 112* and 6 for 31 against Bangladesh in 2005.