Viv Richards and Carl Hooper hit back at Brian Lara for ‘gross misrepresentations’ in his book

Viv Richards and Carl Hooper have hit back at former West Indies teammate Brian Lara for “gross misrepresentations” in his book – Lara: The England ChroniclesIn a joint statement released on Sunday, the two former West Indies captains refuted Lara’s “claim” that Richards made Hooper “cry once a week”, described it as “categorically false” and called on Lara to “sincerely apologise for any harm caused”.

“Sir Vivian Richards and Mr. Carl Hooper are deeply disheartened by the gross misrepresentations made about them in Mr. Brian Lara’s recent book,” the duo said in a statement released by Hooper. “The allegations made not only distort the reality of their relationship, but also unfairly and damagingly discredit their character.”

In the book, an extract from which was recently published on ESPNcricinfo, Lara wrote that Richards’ words in the dressing room could “intimidate” the players, although he made it clear that he always had the West Indies’ best interests at heart. “Viv made me cry every three weeks, but he made Carl cry once a week. Viv’s tone is intimidating and if you’re not strong enough you can take that personally and be affected by it. It never really affected me. In a way I welcomed it because I was so under his control that I knew abuse was coming and I was a strong personality. Carl? I know for a fact that Carl shied away from Viv Richards.”

However, Hooper said Richards never caused him “grief” and always had his back. “The allegation that Sir Vivian was aggressive towards Mr Hooper and made him cry once a week is categorically false. Such descriptions portray Sir Vivian as a perpetrator of emotional abuse – an allegation that is not only unfounded but also deeply hurtful to both parties.”

“Sir Vivian never caused emotional distress to Mr. Hooper’s first captain. On the contrary, he was always an encouraging mentor and offered unwavering support. Their nearly 40-year relationship was based on mutual respect and camaraderie. The misrepresentation of their interactions in Mr. Lara’s book is a grave disservice to the truth and has caused undue distress to both parties and their families.”

Richards and Hooper have criticised Lara for “attempting to profit from such deception”, which they find “unthinkable” given his standing in world cricket. “We demand that Mr Lara immediately publicly retracts these false allegations and sincerely apologises for the harm caused. It is vital to the integrity of public discourse and to their personal and professional lives that the truth comes to light.”

Lara and Richards only appeared together in one international match for the West Indies, an ODI at Lord’s on the 1991 tour of England, where they briefly batted together in a 20-run partnership – Lara regrets that she didn’t get more time in the middle with him in the book, writing that it was “every young man’s dream to wait in the middle and watch the greatest walk through the wicket onto the field where I stand.”

Lara played with Hooper much more, both as captain and as winger. Lara’s first international match in 1990, an ODI in Karachi, was in a team that included Hooper, and Lara also played in Hooper’s final international match, against Kenya in the 2003 World Cup. In the book, Lara speaks highly of Hooper, calling him one of the greatest talents the Caribbean has produced.

“Man, what a player. The ease with which he batted left us all in awe, even the older players. You could tell that when Carl went out to bat they enjoyed it – Haynes, Richards, Greenidge, all those guys would stop whatever they were doing just to watch him.”