LET us stand up and greet one of the greats of the game, the legendary Sir Viv Richards who is once again back in Pakistan and on a venue where he will be amongst the thousands in the crowd to watch the final of this eventful PSL and where those who have watched him bat have their own memories to savour.

The focus of the crowd in this historic ground of Pakistan, where more Tests have been played than any other venue in the country, will no doubt be on the finalists — the Islamabad United and the Peshawar Zalmis. But the presence of Sir Viv itself would not only lift their morale but give a special flavour to the occasion and provide an opportunity for the youngsters to at least have a sight of him in flesh and narrate it to their next generation.

What is admirable about his presence amongst us is the fact that where lesser mortals kept away, he dared to defy the odds and instructions not to visit crisis-stricken Pakistan to send a clear message to the world that things after all are not that bad security wise as it has been portrayed through misinformation and it is high time that for other players and the countries to rise and help Pakistan revive the glorious game.

Thanks to Nadeem Omar the owner of Quetta Gladiators to invite the mentor of his team and his wife to a city of which Viv has fond memories of and where besides his exploits with the bat in Tests, he once blasted the Sri Lankans for a monumental 181 in 125 balls during the 1987 World Cup, hitting 16 fours and seven sixes a the National Stadium to enable West Indies win by 191 runs.

I have seen him bat like a master, always. I first watched him in the 1975 World Cup in England and followed his entire career in awe since as he entertained the crowd with his belligerent approach to game.

His unbeaten 189 at Old Trafford in an ODI against England and his 291 in a Test at The Oval remain vivid in my memory. One would never hope to see such calm yet imperious approach to batting which he displayed, from the moment he walked in with a swagger to clobber the bowlers of all pace and kind with his nonchalant approach to delight the audience.

His blistering cover drives, hooks and pulls without ever wearing a helmet made him a unique individual who pulverised the hapless bowlers with breath-taking strokes all round the park.

From the time when I first met him in 1975 to now, he remains my favourite cricketer, modest even after the great deeds accomplished in the game. Viv is a friendly and approachable guy like no other I have seen.

Named among the five cricketers of the century, Sir Viv was dubbed as the ‘Master Blaster’ by the critics then. He once helped me to meet his cricketing father Malcolm who happened to be a Prison Commissioner in Antigua and who prepared the ground and pitches at the Recreation |Ground the former Test venue of the island.

“I have learnt to be a disciplined human being from my father which has served me well in life’, Viv once told me.

On one of my West Indies tours, he organised an interview with his father at his house in Viv Richards Street in Antigua where he was born. I was taken to the sitting room where Malcolm was sitting with a huge towel wrapped over his legs.

He welcomed me with a wave and a smile, and apologised for not coming to the gate of the house to bring me in. ‘I have my one leg amputated’ he told me with a sad grin. Sadly Diabetes has taken its toll and gangrene has caused all this,” he continued.

He talked with pride of his son’s achievements and pointed to me towards the great man’s framed pictures on the wall all round as he spoke.

When I asked him if Viv was as gifted as he is from his school days, his father had a rush of blood as he moved forward towards me, shouting at on top of his voice, ‘What do you mean by gifted. He was a gift from the God man, a gift from the God’.

I wouldn’t disagree for the fact that all that I ever saw of him, his entire career at county and international level, he was the greatest batsman that I had the privilege to watch.

His daughters Matara in Antiguan Embassy in Toronto and another in India Masaba Gupta, a famous fashion figure in Bollywood and born of TV actress Neena Gupta, and his son Mali who runs an art gallery in the island are I am sure as proud of him as we are who have seen him reach great heights in his prime.

Welcome to Pakistan Sir Viv, you have done the game proud and you have shown with your presence the way for others to rethink and visit our beautiful country to get the game going. Long live Viva Viv.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2018