TRINIDAD, JUL 23: Days after the release of Brian Lara’s book ‘LARA The England Chronicles’, the West Indies legend finds himself embroiled in controversy, with former teammates Viv Richards and Carl Hooper demanding an apology from the ‘Prince of Trinidad’.
Lara’s book asserts that Richards, as captain, would ‘make him cry every three weeks’, and that Hooper would do so ‘once a week’. In response, a joint statement from Hooper and Richards has called on Lara to clarify his claims. The statement also accuses Lara of ‘grossly misinterpreting’ the actual events and ‘attempting to profit from such deceit’.
Although Richards’ advice was intended to benefit the West Indies cricket team, Lara asserted in a passage from his book that Richards could be a strict taskmaster and that the players would find his remarks frightening.
“I will say this: Viv used to make me cry every three weeks, but he would make Carl cry once a week. Viv’s tone of voice is intimidating and if you’re not strong enough, you can take that personally and be affected by it.
“Me, I was never really affected by it. In a way I welcomed it, because I was so much under his arm 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.”
Both Hooper and Richards, however, have called the revelations “false” stating that they are dismayed and that Richards’ actions were everything but coarse, ill-mannered, or frightening.
“Sir Vivian Richards and Mr. Carl Hooper are deeply disheartened by the gross misrepresentations made about them in Mr. Brian Lara’s recently released book. The allegations presented not only distort the reality of their relationship but also impugn their characters in an unjust and harmful manner,” said the joint statement.
“The claim that Sir Vivian was aggressive towards Mr. Hooper and made him cry once a week is categorically false. Such descriptions paint Sir Vivian as a perpetrator of emotional abuse – and assertion that is not only baseless but also deeply hurtful to both parties.”
Lara, who made his West Indies debut in 1990 featured in just one game with Richards as his teammate, but Hooper and him played together for nearly 15 years. Only Lara, Hooper and Richards know what the truth is, but with the three of them not seeing eye to eye promises to affect the long-term relationship the author shares with both.
“Sir Vivian, as Mr. Hooper’s first captain, has never caused emotional distress to Mr. Hooper. On the contrary, he has always acted as an encouraging mentor and provided unwavering support. Their nearly 40-year relationship has been founded 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.”
“We demand that Mr. Lara immediately issues a public retraction of these false claims and offer a sincere apology for the harm caused. It is crucial for the integrity of public discourse and their personal and professional lives that the truth is set right.”
