Sir Vivian Richards blasted a 56-ball century against England in the 1986 Test in Antigua as West Indies reached the peak of their domination.
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When the West Indies were dominating world cricket, they redefined certain notions. The term whitewash, in which teams would win all the games, had changed to the blackwash. West Indies intimidated oppositions with their pace bowling. They deflated opposition morale with some aggressive batting. From 1974 to 1995, they were undefeated at home. In the entire 21-year period of domination, they lost only twice in 1975/76 and 1980. The team that bore the brunt of West Indies’ domination was England.
The England team had actually been giving stiff competition to the Windies in the period fo the 80s. They managed to win a series in India in 1984 and also an Ashes series win 1986. However, they were blown away by West Indies at home in 1984 when they were blackwashed 5-0. When England came in 1986, they faced their greatest nightmare.
In one ODI in Jamaica, Patrick Patterson broke Mike Gatting’s nose in a brutal manner. The gruesome nature of the injury transformed cricket from a gentleman’s game to a bloodsport. West Indies won the ODIs 3-1 but it was in the Tests that they were brutal. In the first Test, West Indies won by 10 wickets. In the second Test, Richie Richardson and Malcolm Marshall decimated them.
The third and fourth Tests saw the same pattern. In the fifth Test, England, with spirits broken were deflated further. In an audacious assault by the King, Sir Vivian Richards put on an exhibition of batting in such a way that his home crowd of Antigua would go into a frenzy.
West Indies had managed a lead of 164 runs thanks to a brilliant ton by Desmond Haynes. In the second innings, West Indies were going for the kill. Richards decided to display his audacity and pummel England. He blasted a one-handed six off John Emburey, hammered a flat six off Ian Botham. Botham’s figures of 0/72 in 15 overs was only a reflection of the disaster.
Richards tore into the bowling attack and he managed to get to his century off just 56 balls. He broke the previous record by 11 balls. Such was the display of hitting that England stationed nine players on the boundary. Yet, it made no difference. His 110 off 58 balls included seven fours and seven sixes. West Indies won the match and achieved their second consecutive 5-0 blackwash of England.
Richards’ record of the fastest ton stood for 30 years. In 2014, Misbah-ul-Haq of Pakistan leveled the record when he hammered a hundred off 56 balls against Australia in Abu Dhabi. However, in 2016, Brendon McCullum of New Zealand smashed a century off just 54 balls as he broke the record set by the West Indies great.
In 1986, Richards had broken new ground. It was the crescendo of West Indies’ domination in world cricket. England paid the price, with many media analysts calling it the worst tour ever.
