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Cricket legend Sir Viv Richards thinks that Leeward Islands opening batsman, Stuart Williams is ready to play for the West Indies team again.

Sir Viv, who will celebrate his 50th birthday on Thursday, said Williams looked a very mature player and the opportunity for him to play at Test level again should come this season, because he now looks accomplished and ready to face the rigours of Test cricket.

He was speaking last Saturday in Anguilla, after watching the Leewards captain stroke his way to a magnificent 195 against defending champions Barbados in the sixth round of the Busta Cup first-class championships.

I was giving commentary at the time and I just felt it was a mature innings, said Sir Viv, who led the West Indies from 1985 to 1991.

He had a lot of things to contend with in the field the previous day when things didn't go the Leewards way, but I think he knuckled down well and is sending his signals in the right direction. He is saying: `I want to be back in the West Indies team.'

The 32-year-old Williams has scored 1 092 runs in 28 Tests at an average of 24.26. His last match was against South Africa in Port Elizabeth on the ill-fated 1998-99 tour when West Indies lost the Test series 5-0.

In this year's Busta Cup Williams has slammed a whopping 711 runs, including two centuries and Sir Viv said you could not count out an individual like Williams who was very persistent.

An individual like that is blessed with enormous talent and I think the way he is maturing and showing the responsibilities is good.

I just feel that his experience of having played at the highest level before, and the fact that he has some understanding of what Test match cricket is all about, is a plus. So we can always go back and turn back the clock sometimes, said Sir Viv who made 8 540 runs in 121 Tests, including 24 centuries.

He also complimented the pitch at the Ronald Webster Park for its even bounce and consistency.

People can only learn from pitches like this. It's not just a batsman's paradise. It's a sporting wicket. Fast bowlers can prosper with intelligent bowling and so, too, can a spinner or medium-pacer. So it has something for everybody, he said.

Sir Viv and longstanding Somerset and West Indies teammate Joel Garner, were in Anguilla to be specially honoured by the governor.

© The Barbados Nation