By Neto Baptiste
Sir Vivian Richards, considered one of the greatest batsmen of all time, has labelled former fast bowler and the first Antiguan to play for the West Indies, Sir Andy Roberts, one of the greatest thinkers of the game.
Sir Viv made the statement on the heels of Sir Andy’s 50th anniversary to the day he first donned West Indies colours on March 6, 1974 against England in Barbados.
“It was Andy in terms of the inspirational factor coming from Antigua and Barbuda, who would have given me an opportunity to feel that I also could accomplish things, and I say thank you to him also. We played a little bit together, we did a lot together, but I was never in that position [captain] when we were playing around that particular time to captain Andy, but Andy would have always been of great help in terms of the inspirational factor and the information he brings. I think there is no fast bowler, and I say this with no cheese in my mouth, who has an understanding of how to get batsmen out and that’s Sir Andy Roberts,” he said.
The iconic former captain who celebrated his 72nd birthday on March 7, said Sir Andy could have played in any era with much success and is deserving of any and all accolades that come his way.
“Andy was way before his time, and I have no regret saying that. It’s just amazing that some of the stuff in terms of the rewards that cricketers are getting today that it wasn’t yesteryear, because I think that for the service that Sir Andy and others like him would have given, they would have thoroughly deserved that,” he said.
Sir Andy claimed 202 wickets in 47 Test matches and another 87 in 56 One Day International (ODI) matches, and was nicknamed “Hit Man” as many times, batsmen failed in their attempt to elude his crafty bouncers.
It took Sir Andy less than two and a half years to reach 100 Test wickets, the quickest at that point, and his best years were unquestionably in the middle 1970s, before the Packer revolution.