2) Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge
One half of one of the most prolific opening partnerships of all-time, Gordon Greenidge started his international career along with one of the most destructive batsmen to have ever played the game, Sir Viv Richards. While both batsmen were part of a West Indies side that beat India in the first of the five-match Test series in Bangalore, they had contrasting starts to their career.
While Greenidge began with a 93 in the first innings and a century in the second, Viv finished with 4 and 3 in both innings. But at the end of their respective careers, there can be little doubt as to who finished as the better batsman. Although Greenidge remains one of the best openers to have ever played the game, Richards created doubts in the minds of the bowler unlike any other batsman of his era.
The sheer swagger and the way he carried himself made him one of the greatest batsmen to have played the game and the records reflect that. Nearly 7,000 ODI runs at an average of 47 and strike rate in excess of 90 in the 1970s and 1980s, when bowlers reigned supreme shows his class and so does an average of over 50 and 8,540 runs in 121 Tests.
While Greenidge was technically sublime, Richards could intimidate unlike any other and the pair were part of one of the golden eras of West Indian cricket.
