'I spent a lot of time here': West Indies cricket legends visit Leicester ahead of T20 World Cup
ITV News Central's Rajiv Popat went to Leicestershire County Cricket ground to meet the four legends.
Four legends of West Indies cricket have visited Leicester as part of the build up to the T20 World Cup this summer.
Sir Viv Richards, Sir Curtly Ambrose, Sir Richie Richardson and Sir Andy Roberts have been in the city to celebrate what is expected be a "momentous" year for cricket in Antigua and Barbuda.
It's hosting matches in the tournament along with other Caribbean nations and the United States, in June.
The four revered sportsmen started off their tour at Leicestershire County Cricket Club's ground, before visiting Leicester Caribbean Cricket and Social Club to talk about cricket heritage and the tournament.
Sir Viv Richards is widely regarded as one of the best batsmen of all time, scoring 8,540 test match runs for the West Indies.
He has also won the ICC Cricket World Cup twice in 1975 and 1979.
The Richards-Botham trophy is also named after him - and England cricketing icon Sir Ian Botham - which is awarded to the winner of a test cricket series between England and the West Indies.
Sir Viv Richards said: "The weather here doesn't really tell us what's going to happen in the Caribbean, but we are basically here to do that, to try and spread the message.
"That what's going to be happening in June is going to be something special."
Sir Andy Roberts played an integral part in the West Indies’ dominance of cricket during the mid-1970s to the early 80s.
He also contributed to the West Indies successive ICC Cricket World Cup triumphs in 1975 and 1979.
He played at Leicestershire 40 years ago and told us what it was like coming back.
He said: "It's good to see the old ground, I spent a lot of time here, enjoyed myself here and the weather the vast majority of the time is like what it is now.
"It's no surprise to me we get a warm, cold weather."
Sir Richie Richardson was a former captain of the West Indies, famed for his flamboyant batting and was also renowned for his fast-bowling.
He spoke about the West Indies chances of success.
He said: "Well it's as good as any. We all know in the T20 tournament anything is possible so it just how well the teams play on the day and how consistent they are going through.
"As a match referee I can't make any predictions because i'll get in trouble, but all we want is an exciting tournament.
"I'd like to see the underdogs come through and upset big fish."
Sir Curtly Ambrose is the West Indies' second-highest test match wicket taker with 405 wickets.
He is very excited about the tournament taking place in the West Indies.
He said: "I've had the privilege of playing across a few countries and from my experience cricket in the Caribbean, in particular in Antigua and Barbuda is like no other place on earth.
"So if you want some real entertainment, cricket, music, food, just pure entertainment, relaxation Antigua and Barbuda is the place to be. I can guarantee you that."
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will take place from June 1 to 29, 2024, where Antigua and Barbuda will host eight matches at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
England are the current holders of the T20 World Cup after beating Pakistan in the final, back in 2022, in Australia.
Known as the 'Year of Cricket' for Antigua and Barbuda, the twin-island nation also looks forward to hosting the FairBreak Women’s T20 event in July and the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL24) from August 28th to October 6th.
England’s Men’s Cricket team will also tour the West Indies for a white ball series in November, with matches expected across Antigua and the Caribbean.
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