FORTY years ago at 11.44am on Saturday, June 1, 1985, Isaac Vivian Richards strode out from the Colin Atkinson Pavilion at Taunton to face the Warwickshire attack.

By the time he returned to the pavilion 3 hours and 54 minutes later, he had proceeded to score 322, to set a new individual batting record for Somerset, beating the previous best of 310 set by Harold Gimblett against Sussex 37 years previously.

During the course of his innings in which he faced 258 balls and hit 42 fours and eight 6s, Viv shared in three century partnerships -122 for the second with Nigel Popplewell, 174 for the third with Richard Ollis, and 183 for the fourth with Vic Marks who made 65.

Marks recalls: “I was captain in that game and I seem to remember that it was quite a lively pitch because Paul Bail got hit on the head early on so when Viv went into bat we were in effect 28 for two.

“The ball was zipping around and Gladstone Small was making it quite dangerous but Viv was playing like only he could and he got to his first century fairly quickly.

“By that time Norman Gifford was bowling and having got his century Viv was trying to hit him out of the ground and looking like he could get out any moment.

“Gifford then took himself off and brought Gladstone Small back and suddenly Viv was relishing the challenge of facing a lively bowler again and he became much more focussed; he didn’t take so many risks and started to play beautifully.

“When I went into join Viv the score was 324 for four, by which time he must have been close to 200. He was playing freely as I recall and then having gone past 200, the runs were coming so fast that he didn’t probably realise that he could be in for making three hundred.

“After a while I started to realise that he could get 300 and started thinking as he got closer was that I mustn’t run him out .I was quite keen to stay there while he got to his three hundred which I was.

“It was an innings of phases, starting with a challenge when the ball was doing a little bit and he had to work to get to his hundred; then there was a time when he was playing some horrible shots against Giff and it looked like he was going to get out . Then the quick bowlers came back and that got him focussed again and he then played beautifully.

“Viv was fun to bat with although he didn’t say a lot when you were at the other end. The glorious thing about batting with Viv was that he engaged with you. It wasn’t just about him and he would recognise that it was a partnership. You always felt you were in it together.

“You always sensed that when you were out there with Viv that he was right behind you as well, and in his own way encouraging you, providing you were doing your bit.”

Marks added: “Viv is the top batsman as far as I am concerned and he was of course an awesome player and a joy to bat with. He loved the grand occasion and it seemed to relax him.”