By Carlena Knight
National Hero Sir Vivian Richards had nothing but commendations for fellow Antiguan cricketer Hayden Walsh Jr as the young cricketer is gearing up to represent the West Indies in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Walsh Jr is the first Antiguan and Barbudan to be named to the squad and following his recent performances has garnered the attention of the one of the greatest West Indian cricketers, Sir Vivian Richards.
Sir Viv revealed that he is in fact a huge fan of the youngster and even gave him some brief advice for his upcoming stint.
“What I know about Hayden Walsh — and I am a fan because I am a fan of the fielding department as well — and he brings a lot of energy to the team. There’re some guys who are not as mobile in the team at present and when you have guys like him and the other guy from Jamaica in the field, they send that motivating factor. What you miss on the roundabout you hopefully pick up on the straight. He is just blessed with that energy that you have in the field and I have always been a fan of good fielders,” Sir Viv said.
“There are some things that have been said about his batting and he can bring much more once he starts believing in himself much more regardless of whatever the situation is and I think a perfect example would be what himself and Alzarri would have achieved bringing West indies home against England that should be a motivator that it can be achieved,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Master Blaster also agreed with recent comments made by another cricketing great Sir Andy Roberts about the fact that sportsmen and women who would have contributed greatly to the country are not getting the recognition that they deserve.
He said while he agrees there have been some athletes who have gotten recognition, more can be done.
“I would say that Andy is correct in certain areas, but at the end of the day, there are some who would have gotten a little more exposure than some and attention is basically paid to these individuals but there is no doubt that regardless of whatever level that you may have represented the country there should always be that respect and the things that representing the badge comes with. It is of importance to just continue the interest to let people know that I too can achieve and this is what happened and these are the things that would have happened when I represented my country and represented my country well,” Sir Viv said.
The West Indian great was speaking on the Good Morning JoJo Sports Show when he made those comments.