There have been many who have come close, but still no batsman can hold a candle to Richards when he was in the groove in a one-day international.
On this day 18 years ago in Karachi at the Cricket World Cup, Sir Viv took apart Sri Lanka, scoring 181 off 125 deliveries with 81 runs off just 27 deliveries in a brutal display of batting.
Richards’ knock in tandem with Desmond Haynes’ 105 – the pair put on 182 for the third wicket – took the Windies to a mammoth 360-4, at the time the biggest ODI score in history.
In reply, the Sri Lankans never got close, Arjuna Ranatunga’s 52 the only noteworthy reponse as they lost by 191 runs.
1957: Raymond Kopa, Hector Rial and Alfredo Di Stefano are on target as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-0 in La Liga. Madrid will go to win the Spanish title.
1963: Arnold Palmer leads the USA – without Jack Nicklaus – to a convincing 23-9 victory over Great Britain to win the 15th Ryder Cup. Palmer was the last playing captain in the tournament’s history.
1993: The newly-formed Anaheim Mighty Ducks won their first game in franchise history, beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on their fourth appearance in the NHL.
