National pride abounds as image of Sir Viv will grace new $2 banknote; citizens abroad expect bill to become collector’s item

Congratulations are pouring in for Sir Vivian Alexander Richards,
Antigua and Barbuda’s only living national hero, whose image is
gracing the new EC$2 banknote.
 
The icon, who captained the West Indies Cricket Team from1985 to
1991 with sweeping international success, is deserving of this
honour, according to many proud citizens at home and in the
Diaspora.

According to personal friends Harold Lovell and Alister Thomas, this
accolade is a just reward not only for Sir Vivian’s sporting exploits,
but for his racially conscious and morally principled stand against
South Africa’s former system of apartheid.

The new $2 note – unveiled in a ceremony held on Friday, December
1 – will be available to banks across the Eastern Caribbean Currency
Union (ECCU) from Wednesday December 6. And nationals at home

and living abroad tell REAL News they are eager to make the note a
collector’s item.
 
Sir Viv, as he is affectionately known, has been described by many as
the greatest batsman of his era. In 1974, at the age of 22, he
embarked on an illustrious career that lasted until 1993 and
encompassed 121 Test matches.
 
During that time, Sir Viv scored 8,540 runs, averaging more than 50
runs per innings in Test competition, and recording 24 centuries.
Sir Viv was knighted in 1999 and, in 2006, awarded the country’s
highest honour: National Hero.

Other outstanding regional personalities who have appeared on EC
banknotes include Marcus Garvey, from Jamaica, and Sir K. Dwight
Venner, the late governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.