From the moment it hit the bookshelves, Brian Lara’s latest publication, LARA The England Chronicles, has been a matter of great contention and has created quite the controvesy.
Lara’s book reveals that Viv Richards was a harsh disciplinarian who made both him and Carl Hooper weep as skipper of the West Indies team with an ‘intimidating style of speaking’ that could get to anyone not strong-willed.
For this reason, both Richards and Hooper have demanded apologies from Brian Lara for what they term as “gross misrepresentations” concerning them.
The part in question reads, “…Viv used to turn me into a little girl every three weeks but you’d find him making Carl cry once a week. His voice is scary if you’re weak enough to think it’s about you personally.”
“Well, I wasn’t really affect by it. I actually welcomed it because I knew he would eventually abuse me and it was a great relief for me. However, do you know one thing about Carl? He kept away from Viv Richards!” (Raynor)
These players have responded to Lara’s statement in a joint press release after the launch of his new book demanding reasons behind such claims
“The gross misrepresentation of Mr. Brian Lara regarding Sir Vivian Richards and Mr. Carl Hooper in his newly published novel has left them disheartened,” read their joint statement, “Moreover, these allegations misrepresent their relationship as well as defame them unfairly thus causing harm.”
“Furthermore, the claim that Sir Vivian Richards humiliated Mr. Hooper regularly to tears is absolutely not true; those terms make out Sir Vivian as an emotional abuser which is completely fallacious and deeply offensive to both parties,” said the statement.
“Mr. Hooper’s first captain Sir Vivian never caused any emotional hardships on Mr. Hooper at all but instead always acted as a guiding friend offering a shoulder upon which he could land. They have enjoyed a close relationship built on respect and companionship for almost forty years. The real story of their connection, as portrayed in Mr. Lara’s book, is an outright lie that has caused immense pain to both families.”
Therefore, Richards and Hooper have asked Lara to apologize
“These false claims must be corrected by Mr. Brian Lara with immediate effect through a public retraction followed by a sincere apology for the damage inflicted accordingly,” demanded they in a joint petition. “For the sake of truthfulness in private and public conversations it is important…”
Lara only played one match together with Richards as teammates for West Indies – an ODI at Lord’s during the 1991 England tour; whereas, he had led and played under Hooper’s captaincy while playing for Windies.
