da pinup bet： Sir Viv Richard’s Induction Photo © WICB World renowned star batsman, Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards ofAntigua was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame in a gala ceremonyheld at the Radisson Hotel, Cromwell, Connecticut, Saturday,
Derrick Nicholas12-Oct-2001
Sir Viv Richard’s Induction
Photo © WICB
World renowned star batsman, Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards ofAntigua was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame in a gala ceremonyheld at the Radisson Hotel, Cromwell, Connecticut, Saturday, September29. The former West Indies’ captain was hailed as one of the greatestWest Indies players ever, and a fitting role model for youths toemulate. The large turnout stood and applauded Sir Vivian followinghis induction.Sir Vivian joins such past inductees as Sir Garfield Sobers, GeorgeHeadley, Sir Leonard Hutton, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes,Sir Clyde Walcott, Sir Conrad Hunte, Alfred Valentine, Lance Gibbs,Rev. Wesley Hall, Clive Lloyd, Hanif Mohammed and umpire Tom Ewart tothe prestigious halls.Master of Ceremonies Attorney Rudolph Cohen, also a former member ofthe West Indies cricket team, relived some of the feats of the WestIndian hero, who tore the hearts out of Australian speed demons DennisLillee and Jeffery Thompson, during a tour of that country in 1975-76.One of the most important aspects of Sir Vivian’s career, Cohen said,is that after he became captain of the West Indies’ team, he continuedhis performance as a leader, never losing a series.Stating that it was a great honour to have Sir Vivian in our presence,Cohen explained how great a character Sir Vivian is by recalling aresponse he gave to a question during an interview. Asked about analleged catch taken at the wicket during one of his innings, Cohensaid that Sir Vivian replied that he is playing the game long enoughto know when he hit the ball.Sir Vivian paid tribute to all the people who helped him along theway, in particular his older brother Donald, and fellow AntiguanCharles Henry, whom he said took him to see his first Test match.Thanking the Cricket Hall of Fame’s committee for the honour bestowedon him, The Master Blaster,as he is affectionately called, saidthat despite his now known feats he was just as nervous going to thewicket as any other player. He lamented, however, that he had to comeall the way to North America to receive this honour, something whichhe believes should be done in the Caribbean.In responding to a question from the audience, Sir Vivian paid tributeto former player Lawrence Rowe, whom he described as one of thecoolest individuals that he has ever come across and said that as faras the game is concerned Rowe will always be his hero. Rowe, he said,always whistles while batting, but during a tour of Australia whilethey were at the wicket facing the speedsters’ Thompson and Lillee, henoticed that the whistling was missing. He said that he calmly wentdown the wicket to Rowe to enquire what was wrong in which Rowereplied that the men were dishing out fire today.To a question about his thoughts on the present state of West Indiescricket, Sir Vivian put the blame at the leadership of the West IndiesCricket Board, which he said needs to be united. Like the economy weare in a down cycle at the moment. It will take hard work andcalculated decisions to get us out of it, and when that is done, thenwe will have something to shout about again, he said.We have the talent, he said, but in order for us to go forward, theyoungsters coming into the fold must realize that we must know wherewe are coming from in order to know where we are going,he said.Luckily for me, we had people to look up to, emulate and follow after,he added, stating that it is quite easy for us to forget that we haveto crawl before we can walk.During the ceremony two proclamations were received, one fromConnecticut Governor John G. Rowland and the other from the city ofHartford’s Council declaring the day Sir Vivian’s Day in the state andcity respectively.Earlier that day Sir Vivian attended a reception held in his honour atthe Hartford Public Library, visited the Cricket Hall of Fame and acricket match at the city’s Keney Park between a visiting English teamand current the local champions, the West Indian Social Club.Receiving presidential awards for their services to the game andsupport for the Cricket Hall of Fame was The Weekly Gleaner, The WestIndian/American Newspaper, U.S. Cricketer International and Torontobased comedian Norman Sabu Grant, who kept the audience in stitchesat the start of the program.