Richards, 57, was named the finest one-day player of all time by Cricket bible Wisden in 2002, and the third-best Test batsman behind Sir Donald Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar.
In Australia on a speaking tour with his one-time Australian sparring partner Rodney Hogg, Richards points the finger at players such as Australian Shaun Tait for forgetting what made them successful.
“Shaun Tait should be playing Test cricket. When you are that quick people want to see you in all forms of the game,” he said.
“Young players are ignoring the cricket that brought them to the fore because of the money they are earning.
“Pardon me, but I hope they do not s—t on the game. Some of the young players don’t appreciate how they got to where they are, how others made the path for them.”
Despite having never played Twenty20, Richards enjoys the concept. But he likens it to fast food, a treat for eating healthy food, which in his case is Tests and the 50-over format.
“I believe there is room for all three forms of the game but the administrators have to get their scheduling right,” he said.
As for the plight of a team he captained 50 times without a series lost between 1984-91, Richards said: “I am very disappointed. The public deserves better because they are used to a high-level performance from our teams.”
“You can’t fool the Australian cricketing public who must have felt a huge let-down with this particular team.”
Richards says the West Indian team is only as good as the people it works for. And he doesn’t rate “the people they work for” very highly.
He says there is a lack of trust between the players and administrators and questions where the money dedicated to cricket ends up.
“This may seem harsh but you have to know what Robert Mugabe is like in Zimbabwe, do you pump money into an establishment where the money doesn’t filter through?
“The talent is in the West Indies but it’s shady that we don’t have an up and running cricket academy. To say basketball is taking our players is a weak excuse.
“Some of our players today don’t seem too sure who or what they are representing. Even though the board is not behaving well they must still have personal pride.
“Once you are out in the bull-ring are you still going to allow the bull to come and trample you?”
