Denesh Ramdin admitted to second thoughts about his riposte to criticism from West Indies legend Sir Viv Richards.
Sir Viv responds to wicketkeeper-batsman's public message
Denesh Ramdin admitted to second thoughts about his riposte to criticism from West Indies legend Sir Viv Richards.
Ramdin chose to celebrate his century on day four of the third Investec Test by digging a hand-written note out of his pocket and hoisting it up to the television cameras and crowd at Edgbaston. It read: 'Yeah Viv, Talk Nah'.
The slogan was a personal response to Richards' criticism of Ramdin after West Indies' defeat to England in the second Test at Trent Bridge.
Richards made clear his low opinion of Ramdin's very public reply.
At stumps, the wicketkeeper-batsman appeared to be harbouring some regrets over his decision to write the note and take it out to bat with him in case he made it to his second Test hundred.
He said: "Sir Viv had said something in the press, and I think I got a bit emotional - and it came out the way it did.
"Having said that, he's a legend of the Caribbean - and I still look up to him. If I see him anywhere, I'll still call him out and have a drink with him."
It is evident nonetheless that Ramdin took Richards' criticism to heart.
"His statement was a bit hurtful to me - I worked hard and I proved the critics (wrong). I had it in my pocket yesterday morning. It was indeed (huge motivation).
"Not getting runs, I had it in my pocket - reminding myself I need to get runs.
"I want to do well for myself; I'd been out of international cricket for a while.
"It's something I love and I want to go out there and perform for myself, as well as my team-mates.
Standards
"I hadn't got runs in the last couple of Test matches - and, against the number one team in the world, this was another motivation factor."
Richards does not believe one century, after West Indies have already lost this series, entitles Ramdin to respond as he has.
"It's like in a football match ... if you are losing 5-0 and you score a goal in the 90th minute, you shouldn't be running around jumping for joy," he said.
"I wouldn't be happy with that. I set my standards a bit higher. I'm glad he got the motivation to get himself going.
"It's been a long time coming. If you are good enough, the chances certainly are you are going to get it done.
"Let's not forget it's in a losing cause. Scoring a hundred when you are the team winning, that's excellent stuff. He should be quite happy, and humble in himself."
