WC place will boost Windies cricket: Viv
28 March 2018 5:02 AM IST
Karachi: Legendary batsman Viv Richards says West Indian cricket will benefit from qualifying for the World Cup, and that it would have been a huge blow had they not made it to England in 2019.
The West Indies -- whose fortunes have plummeted in recent years -- were in danger of missing out after the International Cricket Council (ICC) reduced the number of teams in next year's 50-over global showpiece from 14 to 10.
The top eight teams in the ICC rankings qualified automatically, leaving the ninth-ranked West Indies having to come through a tournament against nine other nations in Zimbabwe for the final two places.
The West Indies finally squeaked through when they beat Scotland last week in a controversial rain-affected showdown in Harare.
"I won't say I am relieved because I felt that they had a strong enough team in order for them to win and qualify," Richards told AFP in Karachi at the weekend, where he was attending the final of the Pakistan Super League.
The Antiguan, one of the greatest batsmen of all time, was part of the West Indies World Cup-winning teams in 1975 and 1979.
"West Indies have a World Cup pedigree and that makes all of us proud in the Caribbean," said the man who was also in 1983 team that lost the final to India and captained his country in 1987.
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