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Sir Viv Richards believes West Indies cricket needs to forget about the 'bling bling boys' and rediscover the good old fashioned graft that once made it great.

The straight talking cricket legend believes lack of discipline - not lack of talent - is the biggest reason for the region's current malaise.

And he has warned Bermuda's cricketers not to fall victim to the same superstar mentality, to listen to their coaches and to put in the hard work that is the cornerstone of success for any team.

Richards, on the island as part of the promotion for the Stanford 20/20 tournament, delivered a no-nonsense speech to Bermuda's Under-19 squad, which is bound for the World Cup in Malaysia next year.

And, in a separate interview with the Bermuda Sun, he addressed the senior national team's issues with players failing to show for training and insisted that a 'serious lack of discipline' was infecting the entire region.

Richards, as bullish and up-front as a public speaker as he was a batsman, said: "You are wasting a lot of people's time if you keep doing the wrong things.

"When I was playing people were a little bit more receptive to what they were told.

"There was a little bit less of the bling, bling. That wasn't even a term that people used.

"Discipline plays a huge part.

"You have to go through the mechanisms, you have to put in the hard work and be receptive to your coaches. That never changes, regardless of whether you have the bling bling boys or not."

And Richards - widely regarded as one of the greatest natural talents ever to play the game - insisted his ability was not a gift from God, but the product of hours of hard work.

"It's not about natural talent - the more you run, you become a better runner

"God gives you talent to a point but he also gives you the ability to work hard and to make the best of your talents."

Both in his answers to our questions and in his speech to the Under-19s on Saturday, Richards was at pains to point out that the work ethic and team spirit which characterized the great West Indies teams of the past were what was missing in the current generation.

He told the young players they had an opportunity to change this, not just in Bermuda, but across the West Indies.

"What I am so impressed with is the freshness and the youthfulness of your faces. This must be the future for Bermuda cricket.

"West Indies cricket has a serious discipline problem. I'm seriously passionate about what we do, how we did it in the past, how we are not doing it at present. I'm very disappointed about that.

"You have the opportunity to set the pattern for the next generation."

Richards, who went undefeated as skipper of the legendary West Indies side of the 1980s, widely regarded as the greatest dynasty in the history of the sport, also gave a ringing endorsement of his former team-mate and Bermuda's coach Gus Logie.

"Gus Logie played in one of the best teams in world cricket. The knowledge he has brought here is second to none," he said, urging the young players to learn all they could from him.

Richards also stressed the importance of teamwork, insisting there was no room for 'dead weight' and urging anyone who did not want to put in the effort to leave now.

"Anyone who wants to excel by himself can go and play tennis or run the 100 metres. You are in a team situation."

Despite his misgivings about the current state of cricket in the region, Richards believes there is hope for a revival, with the current investment from billionaire financier Allen Stanford

"You had a programme which was totally being ignored by the West Indies Cricket Board.

"In the past things that should have been readily available for the development processes weren't there. The facilities weren't there.

"Stanford 20/20 means countries are getting the necessary things for development, for training, for you to have the best adequate coaching. I believe we now have the environment to do that."[[In-content Ad]]

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