Viv Richards and Carl Hooper demand 'sincere apology' from Brian Lara for 'false claims' in his book

Brian Lara's new book 'Lara: The England Chronicles'a stirred controversy in West Indies cricket as former team captains Viv Richards and Brian Lara have sought public apology from Lara, accusing him of making 'false claims'.

In his book, Brian Lara - one of the greatest batters ever to have played the game - has written that Viv Richards' way of speaking was intimidating, and that would make him cry every third week, and Carl Hooper once every week.

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"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,” wrote Brian Lara in his book 'Lara: The England Chronicles'.

The part in the book has grabbed the attention of Richards and Hooper, and the duo have now issued a joint statement demanding for a public apology from Lara. They have accused him of making allegations which wrongly depict their characters and the relationship between them as players and individuals.

"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.

"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,” the statement added.

Brian Lara has also praised Carl Hooper in the same book, saying that his talent was better than Sachin Tendulkar and himself. Lara has also clarified in the book that Viv Richards behaved in that particular manner because he wanted the betterment of players. Lara also noted that the legendary West Indies batter Vivian Richards had a special liking for Hooper.

"Viv Richards never cried down on a person because he didn't want them to be great like him. His sternness was who he was, but he never wanted you not to do well. It was just how he was. And look, Viv loved Carl. Much more than he loved me, that's for sure. But the way Viv shows love didn't resonate with Carl," Lara wrote about Viv Richards.