Q&A with Sir Richie Richardson

What was the highlight of your cricket career?

When I got that initial call telling me that I was selected for the West Indies, something that had been my dream from a young age. It was an eerie feeling when I was in my first Test Match; in the dressing room, I felt like I was floating. And when I looked around and saw all these great names like Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd and the likes, I just couldn’t believe it. But I had to get my feet on my ground and start playing if I wanted to be like these highly professional guys.

How would you describe cricket to someone who knows nothing about it?

Cricket is a highly complex game. I played all my life before retirement, and even now, I am working as a cricket referee, but I still find it complicated, and there are things I still don’t understand! T20 is an excellent tool to introduce cricket to countries that have never played it before. It’s exciting, shorter and easier to catch onto.

How do you see the future of West Indies cricket?

Ever since West Indies started playing, they have captured the love of people worldwide. After our successes, we took it for granted that we would remain the best team. We are now struggling to get back up the ladder, although we are still respected because of our reputation. We have great players, but we need to do more to promote the game in schools and communities and invest more in the sport. We have to believe that we can be the best in the world again. We were, and we can be again.