LONDON, April 30: Viv Richards’s teenage son is considering switching his allegiance from West Indies to England — despite only reluctant support from his father.

Mali Richards, an 18-year-old left-handed batsman who was born in England, has been attracting interest from Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday.

Mali, currently studying at Cheltenham College in the south west of England where he is cricket captain, was quoted as saying: “My ambition is to play international cricket, for the West Indies hopefully, but if the chance did come along for me to play for England, I’d probably take it.”

He has already represented Antigua at senior level.

The newspaper also quoted Viv Richards as saying: “For sure, I would certainly be trying to do some convincing to tell him where I think his allegiance should lie, but if I can’t get it through that it is here in the West Indies, I have no problem where he feels he wants to play.

“I have to support and back him.”—Reuters