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Former West Indies greats Sir Vivian Richards and Carl Hooper slammed former teammate Brian Lara for his ‘hurtful’ remarks in his book. While the trio, especially Richards and Lara remain all-time greats in the history of West Indies cricket, the latter, in his book ‘Lara: The England Chronicles’, claimed that Richards’ behaviour in the dressing room could be intimidating. Not only this, but he also stated that while Richards’ intention was towards the betterment of West Indies cricket, his words made Lara and Hooper cry.
Richards and Hooper rejected the claims and described them as “categorically false” while asking Lara to “issue a sincere apology for the harm caused”. Hooper and Richards released a joint statement while stating that they are “deeply disheartened by the gross misinterpretations.” The statement read, "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."
"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 -- an assertion that is not only baseless but also deeply hurtful to both parties. 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.”
As per ESPNcricinfo, the extract from Lara’s book read, "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."
