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West Indies captain and Domestic Cricket, 1984–1991

Richards captained the West Indies in 50 Test matches from 1984 to 1991. He is the only West Indies captain never to lose a Test series, and it is said that his fierce will to win contributed to this achievement. His captaincy was, however, not without controversy: one incident was his aggressive, "finger-flapping" appeal leading to the incorrect dismissal of England batsman Rob Bailey in the Barbados Test in 1990, which was described by Wisden as "at best undignified and unsightly. At worst, it was calculated gamesmanship". This behaviour would nowadays be penalised according to Section 2.5. of the Rules of Conduct of the ICC Code of Conduct.

During a match against Zimbabwe during the 1983 Cricket World Cup, Richards returned to the crease after a stoppage for bad light and accidentally took strike at the wrong end, which remains a very rare occurrence.

Richards continued to thrive in international cricket. He became the only man to score a century and take 5 wickets in the same one-day international when he played against New Zealand at Dunedin in 1986–87 - a feat that wasn't broken until 2005. Moreover, in 1984, he rescued his side from a perilous position at Old Trafford and, in partnership with Michael Holding, smashed 189 to win the game off his own bat.

For his domestic appearances, Richards had joined Somerset in 1984. There, he made his highest first-class score, 322, when they played Warwickshire in 1985. However, despite his totemic presence at Somerset, over time his performances declined as he devoted most of his time to international cricket. The county finished bottom of the County Championship in 1985, and next to bottom in 1986. In 1988, the county was surrounded by controversy when Somerset's new captain Peter Roebuck became an instrumental piece in the decision not to renew the contracts of Richards and his West Indies teammate Joel Garner, whose runs and wickets had brought the county much success in the previous eight years. Somerset proposed to replace the pair with New Zealand batsman Martin Crowe. Consequently, Ian Botham refused a new contract with Somerset in protest at the way his friends Richards and Garner had been treated and promptly joined Worcestershire. After many years of bitterness over the event and the eventual removal of Roebuck from the club, Richards was eventually honoured with the naming of a set of entrance gates after him at the County Ground, Taunton.

In November 1988, while on tour of Australia with the West Indies, Richards became the first West Indies player to reach 100 first-class centuries by scoring 101 against New South Wales. Richards remains the only West Indies player to achieve this milestone, and among non-England qualified players only Don Bradman (117) scored more first-class centuries than Richards's 114.

Richards returned to county cricket for the 1990 season towards the end of his career to play for Glamorgan, helping them to win the AXA Sunday League in 1993.