With the Cricket World Cup 2019 about to get underway, we take a trip down memory lane and look at some of the iconic players to have defined their eras and earned the title of legends in their country.
As we build up to the tournament, we celebrate the legends of past and take a look at the current flag-bearers.
Here, we have picked four players from the West Indies who have left their mark in the history books.
Click here for Australia, Pakistan, India and England.
Sir Viv Richards [1974-1991]
One of the five players to be named among the Wisden Cricketers of the century, Sir Viv Richards won two World Cups with the Windies in 1975 and 1979.
Known for the unique and stylish way he wielded the bat and thwarted the fiercest of bowling attacks, Richards holds a special place in cricketing history.
The aggressive batsman would take stance at the crease, wearing no helmet and dispatch the best of bowlers to everywhere from square leg to extra-cover.
Richard is seldom appreciated for his impeccable record as Windies captain between 1984 and 1991 when his team didn’t lose a single Test series.
ODI stats
Batting
Matches: 187
Innings: 167
Runs: 6721
Average: 47.0
Highest: 189
50s/100s: 45/11
Bowling
Matches: 187
Innings: 131
Wickets: 118
Iconic World Cup innings: 138 v England (Final, 1979)
After the Windies were left reeling at 55/3, Richards displayed utmost composure to carve out one of the finest innings in a World Cup finals. He scored 138 runs from 157 balls in a lethal, yet composed innings that saw 11 fours and three sixes.
Windies defended the crown, with England failing to get anywhere close to the target.
Brian Lara [1990-2007]
A legend, a normaliser of big individual scores and one of the biggest entertainers of the game – Brian Lara’s legacy is up there in the top-most echelons of cricketing history.
For most parts of the 90s and early 2000s, the world would look forward to a charismatic southpaw take the crease and punish spinners and fast bowlers alike.
Lara is often remembered for his composed and calculated Test innings. His unbeaten 400 against England is still untouched as the highest individual score in a test innings.
However, the Windies star’s heroic performances in the World Cup are usually overlooked. At a time when Windies cricket were far from their peak, Lara was the sole burning flame.
It’s rather unfortunate that the left-handed batsman’s peak was not in sync with that of his team and he was unable to win a single World Cup. But his 1992 World Cup campaign will be remembered as one of the best in Windies history.
1992 World Cup stats
Matches: 8
Innings: 8
Runs: 333
Average: 47.57
Highest: 88*
50s: 4
Iconic World Cup innings: 116 v South Africa (2003)
Although Lara stood out as the saving grace for Windies in the 1992 World Cup, his most iconic performance arrived 11 years later in the opener of the 2003 World Cup against hosts South Africa.
In an innings that featured 12 fours and two sixes, the veteran took over during a top-order collapse to power Windies to 278 runs, directly contributing 116 on his own. Windies won that game by three runs, providing us with one of the most entertaining openers ever.
Chris Gayle [1999-Present]
‘Chris Gayle’ is synonymous with destruction in T20 terms. The burly left-handed batsman is known for his ability to send the ball out of the park in the shortest version of the game, more so in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
But it was his prowess with the bat in the longer formats that earned him the spotlight on the international stage.
Yet again, the team never peaked during the better part of his career and thus Gayle never got anywhere near the most prestigious trophy in world cricket. A quarter-final finish in the 2011 and 2015 remain their best finish since his debut.
Gayle will be looking to lead his team to glory as he takes the field for one last time in the World Cup.
2015 World Cup stats
Matches: 6
Innings: 6
Runs: 340
Average: 56.67
Highest: 215
50s/100s/200s: 1/0/1
Iconic World Cup innings: 215 and 2-35 against Zimbabwe (2015)
Gayle holds the record for the fastest 200 in a World Cup game, which he achieved in 138 balls against Zimbabwe in the 2015 World Cup.
In a dominating show, the Windies start amassed 215 runs during a 372-run partnership with Marlon Samuels. One of the most entertaining individual performances ever consisted of 10 fours and 16 sixes, surely a display that can be considered iconic.
With the ball, Gayle scalped twice, removing the dangerous Craig Ervine in the process.
Andre Russell (2011-present)
Fierce with the bat, match-winner with the ball – Andre Russell is a player any coach would love to have in his team.
The all-rounder is blessed with tons of virtues, as displayed in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
He debuted in the 2011 World Cup, showed promise but failed to really assert himself.
In the 2015 World Cup, he was the second highest wicket-taker for the Windies, but had a poor tournament with the bat.
Russell now enters the 2019 World Cup at the peak of his abilities, hoping to drag the disorganised side as far as possible in the biggest cricketing event.
2015 World Cup stats
Matches: 7
Wickets: 11
Economy rate: 6.19
Best: 3-33
Iconic World Cup innings
Russell is yet to display a World Cup innings that can be considered iconic. In all probability, we are very close to witnessing this, given he is in the form of his life.
