Richards judged best of past 40 years

One of English longest serving cricket writer’s, Scyld Berry, has named West Indies master blaster Viv Richards as the best player he’s witnessed in the past 40 years.

This English summer will mark four decades covering cricket for The Telegraph for Berry, so to commemorate his ruby jubilee, the veteran compiled a list of the best 40 players during his tenure.

The top 10 features two Australians; destructive wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist at No.7 and the mercurial King of Spin, Shane Warne, at No.3.

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"(Gilchrist) had the advantage of coming in at number seven behind one of the strongest line-ups, but he made it count, as when he dismantled England in Perth with a century that took only one ball more than Viv Richards’s 56, the world record at the time, taking away games which had been within the opposition’s grasp," Berry wrote.

Berry paid tribute to Warne for resurrecting the art of spin bowling in the 1990s from near extinction.

"Pakistan’s Abdul-Qadir had kept alive the flame of spin in general, and wrist-spin in particular, but nobody else was a role-model - until Warne delivered his first ball of the 1993 series at Old Trafford, that divinely perfect leg-break," he wrote.

"He quickly became the greatest post-war spinner, perhaps of all time, his only rival Bill O’Reilly; and when his shoulder injury reduced the fizz of his legbreak, he became the greatest con-man - or magician - who ever bowled spin and took 500 more Test wickets."

What separated Richards above all else, for Berry, was not just his destructive ability with the bat, but the imposing, intimidating presence he carried.

"King Viv," Berry wrote. "The king who subjected every opponent to his will. The unvanquished king who never lost a Test series as captain.

"Intuitively he understood Sun Tsu’s Art of War - defeat an opponent mentally then victory will surely follow - and if opponents were not demoralised by the time he had strolled out nonchalantly, never deigning to wear a helmet, they were when he whipped his first ball through mid-wicket for four."

Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram, who Berry writes is "quite undisputedly" the finest left-arm fast bowler of all time, entered at No.10, with the ‘Prince’ Brian Lara one spot lower at No.9.

South Africa’s premier allrounder Jaques Kallis slotted it at No.8, below Gilchrist and India’s ‘Little Master’, Sachin Tendulkar.

On Tendulkar, Berry believed the Indian had the finest cricket brain off all.

The top five features England’s larger-than-life allrounder Ian Botham, who pipped Tendulkar due to the fact he won more Test series.

At No.4 is Windies champion speedster Malcolm Marshall, followed by Warne and inspiration Pakistan captain Imran Khan in second spot.

For the full list, click here.