Sir Viv records Smokin' new track

His batting was described as poetry in motion and now Sir Vivian Richards has a backing track to his cricketing prowess courtesy of INXS drummer Jon Farriss.

The Master Blaster recorded spoken-word vocals for Farriss’s debut solo release entitled ‘Smokin’ Joe’ – an homage to the man many consider the most destructive batsman of all time.

After meeting Richards at a party in 2012, the founding INXS member says there was no doubt he and the West Indies’ all-time third highest Test run scorer would get along.

“Viv was such a charismatic and affable guy,” Farris said.

“We hit it off straight away and it wasn’t hard to recognise his love of music.

“Given these parallels and my desire to hear him on a track, I approached him to see if he was interested in doing something musically and thankfully he said yes.”

With lines like ‘Here comes Viv, he’s our man, no one else can do what he can’ and ‘I’m cool, I’m smooth, with a cheeky grin, I’ve got the swagger, let the party begin” the song appears a perfect fit for a cricketer known as much for the confidence he exuded as the runs he scored.

His voice, compared to that of soul king Barry White, is also drawing admirers from former and current cricket stars alike.

Richards is far from a stranger to Australian shores, having toured extensively throughout his 17-year international career, even suiting up for Queensland in the 1976/77 Sheffield Shield season.

More recently, Richards was an ambassador and assistant coach for the Melbourne Stars and Channel Ten commentator in the KFC T20 Big Bash League.