Legendary batsman Viv Richards was Friday named as the latest recruit to the ranks of Shane Warne's Australian Twenty20 side, with the West Indian to mentor the Melbourne Stars. Warne, who will skipper the team in the domestic Big Bash League, was keen to have the man dubbed the "Master Blaster" onboard for their second season, and Richards said he was relishing getting involved.
"I've been out of cricket for quite some time," the 60-year-old told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where in 1984 he smashed 208 against Australia in a Test. "To be given an opportunity to come back to the scene of the crime, I'm very excited about that." Richards said he would be very hands-on in his approach to mentoring.
"I'm going to be around. I'm not one of these individuals who's going to be here basically for my looks," he said. Richards, who is acknowledged as one of the greatest cricketers of the 20th century, said he liked what he saw when it came to Twenty20 cricket - a shorter form of the game than the one-day internationals and Tests he played.