Viv Richards lauds McCullum for quickest Test ton

Mumbai, Feb 21 (Cricketnmore): West Indian batting legend Vivian Richards heaped praise on swashbuckling batsman Brendon McCullum after the New Zealand skipper registered the fastest hundred in longest format of the game off just 54 balls playing in his last Test.

Richards, who until Saturday held the record for the quickest ton in Tests off 56 balls jointly with Pakistan's Misbah-ul-Haq, was lavish in his praise for McCullum for his record-breaking feat.

Walking in when New Zealand were tottering at 32/3 on the opening day of the first Test against Australia at Christchurch, McCullum smashed 100 runs off just 54 deliveries to pull the hosts out of trouble and break Richards' record set against England in 1986.

McCullum, who completed his century with a boundary, scored 145 off 79 balls before Nathan Lyon pulled off a superb catch off James Pattinson's bowling to send him back to the pavilion.

"Let me take this opportunity to congratulate Brendon...(I've) been a great fan of yours for many years. Well done on your achievement," Richards said in the video on Twitter, posted by Pakistan Super League (PSL) side Quetta Gladiators on Saturday.

"And if there was going to be an individual who you would've liked to have surpassed whatever you would've achieved in life, certainly it would be you. You're one of those individuals who help to put bums on seats. Long may that continue. Well done, man."

Agency.

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