Richards believes Clarke has earned the right to be called one of the best Test batsmen in the world

West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards has hailed Australia Test captain Michael Clarke’s performances throughout the recently concluded three-Test series against South Africa and added that it seemed as if he was “an executioner with bat in hand”.

Clarke made history after scoring back-to-back double hundreds against the Proteas as he became the first batsman in Test cricket history to score four double centuries in a year.

“Brilliant,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Richards as saying. “Absolutely brilliant. What I loved more than anything else was seeing the way he went about his business. It was like an executioner with bat in hand. He was precise, he watched his way through, he calculated what he could get done after assessing the situation and after spending time at the crease.”

Richards also noted that Clarke had withstood a “test of character” and stated that there was no doubt he was still fit to captain the national team since he was leading by example.

“It was entertaining and is why people should never give up on Test cricket when you can get that sort of stuff,” Richards added. “I know the South Africans were short a bowler or two, but it was just a magnificent display of batting . . . just cynical, just very, very cynical. It was the first time in a long time I have enjoyed proper batsman-ship.”

The legendary West Indian batsman credited Clarke for taking an “aggressive” approach towards the South African bowling attack and dismissed speculation that Test cricket would soon become a format of the past.

“I saw the look on [Proteas captain] Graeme Smith’s face and it was like ‘wow, wow, wow, what should I do next? What are the options?'” Richards said. “It was due to [Clarke’s] aggressive style. With batting like that who says Test cricket is dead.”