Of all the greats to have been denied the chance to play T20 cricket of the game it is perhaps the Antuigan’s absence which is the most regrettable, such was his effortless aggression at the crease.

Born 65 years ago today, Richards was a true superstar of the game in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s as the West Indies enchanted from Headingley to Hobart.

Making his Test debut in 1974, aged 22, against India, he registered just 4 and 3 in Bangalore but the fireworks weren’t too far away as in his second match he made an unbeaten 192 in New Delhi.

Over 121 Tests he notched 8,540 runs at an average of 50.23.

In the one-day arena he was equally as destructive, becoming the fastest in history to reach 1,000 ODI runs and played a key role in the West Indies’ World Cup triumphs of 1975 and 1979.

Other sports stars born on this day: 

1959: Tom Lehman, American golfer who won the Open Championship in 1996 (58).

1960: Ivan Lendl, former world No1 and eight-time grand slam winner who now coaches Andy Murray (57).

1973: Ray Parlour, ex-Arsenal midfielder who is a cult hero at the club having won three Premier League titles (44).

1987: Hatem ben Arfa, French winger for Paris Saint-Germain formerly of Nice, Newcastle and Lyon (30).