Sir Viv still giving England cricketers a hard time
One of cricket's all-time greats couldn't resist having a swipe at England when he turned up in Docklands this afternoon.
Former West Indies batsman Sir Viv Richards, scourge of bowlers during the 1970s and 80s, feels England still have plenty to prove despite reclaiming the Ashes in the summer.
The Wharf caught up with him as he was chilling out at the Caribbean Scene restaurant in the Royal Docks, and Sir Viv was determined to bowl the odd bouncer at England's reputation.
He said: "At the moment England still leave a lot to be desired, in my opinion. You win a series here and there but you lack consistency, and consistency is what great teams are about.
"I think South Africa are the same. You've got to have runs like Australia had. When you accomplish beating everyone like that then you can start boasting you are number one.
"England should look to push on now. If they lose that's a step back from what they achieved here. Great teams push on."
Richards was the star turn in the formidable West Indian side that dominated world cricket for the best part of 15 years from the mid-1970s, pretty much setting the template for the modern game.
The team, which included the likes of batsmen Richie Richardson, Clive Lloyd, Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge, won two world cups and numerous test series.
Its pace bowling battery of Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and, later, Courtney Walsh and Curtley Ambrose, struck fear into many a batsman's hearts and the ball into many of their heads. Just ask Mike Gatting.
But it was Richards, a swaggering presence on the pitch, who was the talisman.
He frequently put England to the sword with his bat. His best test score of 291 came at the Oval in 1976, while he cracked a magnificent, unbeaten 189 to clinch an unlikely one day victory at Old Trafford in 1984.
He retired from test cricket in 1991 with an average of 50.23 and remains the only captain of the West Indies never to lose a series, quite an achievement as he was in the post for seven years.
Now aged 57 and mellower than in his playing days, he has some words of advice for his modern day counterparts.
Recent West Indies cricket has been overshadowed by financial arguments off the pitch and mediocre performances on it. Sir Viv believes it's time for that to stop.
He said: "The way things have played out we're all disappointed about certain stuff in the media, it wasn't the best thing for us to move forward where West Indies is concerned.
"What I do know for certain now is they are going to be touring Australia so let's hope the individuals find that playing may be the best option, rather than being off the field, and to do it to the best of their ability.
"I still believe the West Indian public is very much behind the team itself and if they are successful I know for sure these guys would be applauded and for the right reasons."
One thing modern bowlers will be relieved about is Sir Viv is no longer out there in the middle dispatching their best balls to all parts of the boundary. And the old warrior is not tempted to make a comeback.
He said: "Not at all. Those days are done, man. I'm one of these guys when I'm done, I'm done and that's it. No looking back, just cherish what we achieved in the past.
"You pick up bats every now and then. I'm hopefully going to pick up a bat again next month in Barbados to play an over-40s team. I just hope they are not too competitive."
Sir Viv was helping promote tourism to his home island of Antigua at the World Travel Market at Excel. It's something he's passionate about.
He said: "I've been here all week. We all make it our duty to come to the World Travel Market and come to Excel. I've been coming to London ever since it was held in Earl's Court. We're here to try and sell our country as best we can.
"As you know it's been a hard year for us in many ways. So it's great to be here with old acquaintances and try and strut our stuff, like many other folks from other parts of the Caribbean and the rest of the world.
"Life in Antigua is pretty cool. We have avoided most of the tropical stuff which comes in, so hopefully we can go into December and have a good Christmas without having to worry about a typhoon or something."
Sadly he hadn't brought any Caribbean weather with him to a chilly and damp London.
He said: "I tried my best to put some of the sunshine that I had with me from Antigua in my pocket but it didn't last very long."
Sir Viv Richards was appearing on behalf of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourist Authority.
I agree wholeheartedly with Sir Viv. England's success is good for the team... but it is marginal... Why? It lacks consistency in winning. I should talk too loudly however, since the Windies are doing so poorly, have been doing so poorly, and apparently will continue to do poorly. We probably need Sir Viv - rather than promoting Tourism - to be involved at some level with the Windies game.