Hyderabad: Former West Indies skipper Vivian Richards recalled the day when he was left rattled by Pakistani legend Wasim Akram's speed and still has recurring nightmares about the incident.
Describing Akram as a "very, very special" player during a conversation with a media outlet, Richards reminisced about how he also wished his teammates luck as the former batsman was at the fag end of his career while Akram was bursting onto the scene.
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"One of the quickest deliveries I have ever, ever encountered, and I believe there was someone upstairs looking after me. I had some hair left then, somewhat of a mini-Afro and this one went by so quickly, I could hear it hitting the wicketkeeper's gloves and I said, 'Wow, wow.' Wasim was a young man, coming on to the scene, and I was heading towards the exit door so I was glad that while he was coming then, I was going," Richards said.
"I can remember also that I did say to the individuals, the batsmen in the West Indies team at the time, I said, 'Hey man, good luck to you guys, having to encounter that guy on a regular basis man.' Wasim, he was very, very special. Up to this day, I still see that particular delivery. I have nightmares about it every now and again," he added.
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While the left arm legend Akram finished his career with a staggering 414 wickets in 104 Test matches, his ODI numbers became a record having dismissed 502 batters in 356 matches. For Richards, one of the best to have ever grace the game, he packed up with 8540 runs in 121 matches whereas, in ODIs, he had 6721 runs in just 187 in his kitty.
