Former West Indian cricketers Sir Vivian Richards and Carl Hooper have lashed out at legendary Windes batter Brian Lara for ‘gross Misinterpretations’ of the duo in his recently released book – Lara: The England Chronicles as well. While the trio, especially Richards and Lara, are considered all-time greats in West Indies cricket, Lara wrote that Richards’ dressing room words could intimidate players as well.
Lara further added that despite Richards’ intention to always be towards the betterment of West Indies cricket, his words would make
Hooper cries thrice a week as well.
The extract from Lara’s book as per ESPNcricinfo read: “Viv used to make me cry every three weeks, but he would make Carl cry once a week. Viv’s tone of voice is intimidating and if you’re not strong enough, you can take that personally and be affected by it. Me, I was never really affected by it. In a way I welcomed it, because I was so much under his arm that I knew abuse was coming and I was a strong personality. Carl? I know for a fact that Carl shied away from Viv Richards.”
ALSO READ: “Shubman’s captaincy is very good” – Ravi Bishnoi on Shubman Gill
“Sir Vivian Richards and Mr. Carl Hooper are deeply disheartened by the gross misrepresentations made about them in Mr. Brian Lara’s recently released book. The allegations presented not only distort the reality of their relationship but also impugn their characters in an unjust and harmful manner. The claim that Sir Vivian was aggressive towards Mr. Hooper and made him cry once a week is categorically false. Such descriptions paint Sir Vivian as a perpetrator of emotional abuse — an assertion that is not only baseless but also deeply hurtful to both parties. Sir Vivian, as Mr. Hooper’s first captain, has never caused emotional distress to Mr. Hooper,” it further added.
“On the contrary, he has always acted as an encouraging mentor and provided unwavering support. Their nearly 40-year relationship has been founded on mutual respect and camaraderie. The misrepresentation of their interactions in Mr. Lara’s book is a grave disservice to the truth and has caused undue distress to both parties and their families,” it again shared.
Meanwhile, Brian Lara and Richards played only once together – an ODI against England way back in 1991. While Lara remains West Indies’ all-time leading run-scorer in international cricket with 22,260 runs as well, Richards placed fifth with 15.261 runs as well. Sir Viv Richards and Carl Hooper’s joint statement stated them calling for Brian Lara to apologize for his misrepresenting remarks in his book as well.
“We demand that Mr. Lara immediately issues a public retraction of these false claims and offer a sincere apology for the harm caused. It is crucial for the integrity of public discourse and their personal and professional lives that the truth is set right,” read the statement (via ESPNCricinfo),” it shared.
