Nothing is more fascinating in cricket than an exhilarating and equal contest between a batsman and a bowler.
Duels between two players at the top of their games always makes for a fascinating rivalry, and cricket has been blessed to witness several of these over the course of its history. From Sachin Tendulkar against Glenn McGrath to Sir Viv Richards against Jeff Thompson, the sport has seen witnessed legendary battles played out across the 22 yards.
However, there are some duels which sound exciting in theory, but shall never materialize on the cricket pitch. These are between players divided by eras, with their respective playing careers failing to intertwine.
In this series, we play out a few such hypothetical match-ups by closely examining the statistics of the players involved. First up is West Indies icon Sir Viv Richards up against New Zealand’s Trent Boult in the Test format.
Sir Viv Richards (right-hand bat)
Playing career: 1974-1991
Innings: 182
Runs: 8540
Centuries: 24
Average: 50.24
A player who was streets ahead of his time, Richards is one of the greatest players to have graced the game. A man who dominated bowlers like no other during his era, Richards combined raw power with equal parts finesse.
A batsman who carried the nonchalant Caribbean swagger every time he strode on to the pitch, Richards if often one of the first names in the debate for the greatest ODI batsman of all time. After all, his strike-rate of above 90 in an era where 60 runs per 100 balls was considered respectable is the very definition of an outlier.
He is a player who would not look out of place at all in the modern era of T20 cricket, and would have relished the prospect of wielding his bat in the sport’s latest innovation of a format.
Though his limited-overs achievements naturally draw greater attention, Richards was as equally effective force in the Test format as well. He was at his brutal best in 1976, during which he scored 1,710 runs in the calendar year with the help of two double tons and five other centuries. This extraordinary run included a career-best of 291 against England at the Oval. What is even more remarkable, though, is the fact that those 1,710 runs came at a strike-rate of nearly 96.
Trent Boult (left-arm fast)
Playing career: 2011-ongoing
Innings: 127
Wickets: 267
Five-wicket hauls: 15
Average: 27.65
Strike-rate: 55.7
When it comes to left-armed seamers right now, Boult’s name shines brightest. A pacer who can move the ball both ways, Boult’s ability to generate swing on unhelpful pitches sets him apart from the rest of his contemporaries.
While he is a true all-format bowler, he is one of the very best seamers when in comes to Test cricket. His new-ball partnership with Tim Southee has been a massive hit for New Zealand over the years, with the pair sharing 455 wickets between them in the 55 Tests they have played together.
Boult alone has accounted for 233 of them, with the southpaw further establishing himself as only the third Kiwi bowler in history to claim at least 250 Test dismissals. In 2014, he became only the fourth bowler in Test history to grab at least 30 wickets in two consecutive calendar years.
For a man who counts Wasim Akram as his childhood idol, Boult’s bowling style is very much reminiscent of the Pakistan great. Like Akram, Boult possesses the ability to bowl at a deceptive pace while getting the ball to move off the seam and in the air.
Although he can make the ball move both ways, it is Boult’s ability to bring the ball sharply back into the right-handers that remains his most prized asset as a bowler.
RICHARDS VS BOULT
With his ability to hit across the line with consummate ease, Richards was particularly handy against left-armed bowlers in his heydays. While he averages only 41.25 against right-armed bowlers, it shoots up significantly to 65.92 when it comes to facing left-armers.
Against left-armed pacers in particular, he averages 61.28 while being dismissed only on seven occasions. It is worth remembering though, that four of those seven dismissals have been affected by Wasim Akram. Though he has fallen to Akram four times in seven innings, Richards has still managed to put up scores of 33, 123, 67 and 38 in those particular innings. So, while Akram might have enjoyed the last laugh, Richards still managed to inflict plenty of damage before his dismissals.
However, the Windies legend does seem to be the most vulnerable at the start of his innings. Some 46 of his 170 Test dismissals have come for single-digit scores. Once he gets past that barrier, Richards more often than not conjures a half-century – 42 of his dismissals have come in the period between 50-99 runs.
Boult, on the other hand, is surprisingly more effective against left-handed batsmen than right-handed batsmen. While 150 of his 267 wickets might have come against right-handers, he averages 26.45 against them. In comparison, he has claimed 117 wickets against left-handers at a slightly better average of 24.47.
While several bowlers have their numbers inflated due to their performances against tailenders, the same isn’t the case with Boult as 173 of his overall Test dismissals have come against batsmen batting at No1 to 6.
He is at his most effective against batsmen when they are new to the crease and 133 of his dismissals have come against batsmen when they are still in single-digit scores, with 44 of them coming for a duck. A further 38 and 32 have come between the scores 10-19 and 20-29 respectively. Hence, he looks extremely lethal when it comes to the early vulnerabilities of the batsmen.
VERDICT
Richards’ sparkling record against left-armed pacers speaks for itself, although his penchant for playing across the line does theoretically expose him to the late in-swinger. His dismissals at the hands of Wasim Akram show that he will present chances to the left-handers even when he might be already settled at the crease. When he had his few battles with the Akram, Richards was already at the tail-end of his career while the Pakistan pace great was just bursting on to the international scene.
Richards in his peak years was a different beast altogether, and might have had a better time against Akram’s pace and swing.
For Boult, exploiting the early vulnerabilities of Richards will be key and he is well positioned to do that judging by his record. If Richards can survive Boult’s early onslaught, the swashbuckling batsman should be able to stamp his authority on proceedings. Expect Richards to race away to a half-century at least if Boult isn’t able to do early damage.
At his peak, you would back Richards to win this battle at least seven out of 10 times. Statistics favour the Windies stalwart as well, though Boult can be expected to give him a tough time if the conditions are ideal for swing and seam.
