England are ‘beatable’ insists West Indies great Richards
Birmingham, United Kingdom: Former West Indies captain Vivian Richards has insisted England are “beatable” as he urged the West Indies to restore a sense of pride during their Test series against Joe Root’s men.
The first of a three-match contest starts at Birmingham's Edgbaston ground on Thursday with the inaugural day/night Test in England.
Richards, nicknamed ‘The Master Blaster’, had some of his best days as a cricketer in England, including scoring two double hundreds in a 1976 Test series where he made 829 runs in total, as well as hitting a match-winning century against England in the 1979 World Cup final at Lord’s.
He said England had frequently under-performed, citing the hosts’ defeat by eventual champions Pakistan in the semifinals of this year’s Champions Trophy One-day tournament as an example.
“Over the years, it’s always amazed me with England,” Richards told Thursday’s edition of The Times. They never win as much as they should,” he added.
West Indies have not won a Test in England since 2000, just part of a miserable overall away record during the last 20 years.
They have also arrived without several star players, the legacy of a bitter dispute with administrators and a clash with the lucrative Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 tournament.
England come into the series fresh from a 3-1 home Test success against South Africa.
