Out of the shadow of Viv emerged Richie. But though Richards followed by Richardson was somehow genealogically appropriate, there was a contrast: Richards was volatile and explosive in word and deed; his successor as West Indies captain was genteel and gentle, unfailingly courteous, and modest.

Like Richards, he declined to wear a helmet, and his wide-brimmed maroon sunhat became a trademark. He was a destructively brilliant batter, particularly on hard pitches where he could throw the bat through the line with abandon, carving the ball square. He hooked willingly too, usually up, frequently for six. Criticism was often directed at his lack of concentration, but he was capable of that: his 69 grafted out over four hours on a vile pitch at Edgbaston in 1995 was a masterly exhibition of bad-wicket play.

He reserved his finest innings for the Australians: only Sachin Tendulkar and Jack Hobbs have bettered his nine centuries against them. The first of those came in his fourth Test, in Bridgetown in 1984, when he and Desmond Haynes put on 145 in a big win. The finest was in Georgetown in March 1991, when he blasted 182, including 106 in the final session of the first day. In between, among other feats, came the two hundreds in back-to-back Tests against England in 1986, and the 1988-89 series where he gorged himself on India's bowlers with 619 runs in four Tests.