The word is that Vivian Richards has softened. He even told The Wisden Cricketer last year: “I look forward to peace and a tranquil way of life. I am more chilled than when I played.”

Who are you kidding Viv? I went to meet him last week to look back over his career for a forthcoming feature in TWC and there was a glint in his eye with each memory he recalled. By the end of it he was cursing the fact that his career had been and gone before the onset of Twenty20.

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Yesterday Alastair Cook looked like he had turned up for an exam of advanced calculus without having studied for it.  All of his mates had advice, but none of them were actually sitting it.

It isn’t Cook’s fault – since his junior days he has hardly captained a game of cricket.  No one picks wicketkeepers who have kept once in three years, so why captains?

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