Sir Viv Richards signs up for Oswestry

Oswestry Cricket Club have pulled off a major coup by securing the services of batting legend Sir Viv Richards.

The 60-year-old will appear at Morda Road on Wednesday, June 6 for 'An Evening with Sir Viv.'

Richards is in England at present fulfilling media duties covering the current West Indies tour, with the final Test of the series due to start at Edgbaston the following day.

"It's a great coup for us," said Oswestry spokesman Mike Robinson.

"In the past we have had Courtney Walsh, Derek Randall, Robert Croft and David Shepherd but this has to be the biggest name we have had in our history.

"He was voted the third greatest batsman in Test history at the turn of the century – he's a real legend in the game.

"The plan is for Sir Viv to do a talk followed by a question and answer session."

Richards played 121 Tests for the West Indies between 1974 and 1991, averaging 50 with a highest score of 291 against England in 1976.

He scored 8,540 runs in the longest format of the game and more than 6,700 runs in 187 one-day internationals. He also enjoyed spells with Glamorgan and Somerset in county cricket. Former England international and Oswestry player Andy Lloyd will compere the evening.

Tickets are priced at £20 to include food but capacity is limited to around 120. Anybody wishing to enquire about tickets should contact Mike Robinson on 07971 559 657.