Batting legend Sir Viv Richards of the WestIndies has been singed up by the Melbourne Stars as a mentor for the teamduring the second edition of the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash League.
"You hear some say a blast from the past. Why not add someof that blast from the past to what we have at present?" Richards toldreporters at the MCG.
"If we have individuals who are receptive enough ... I thinkI can help in that category," he added.
The 60-year-old from Antigua said he was excited to be a partof Melbourne Stars and would look to help the youngsters.
"To be given an opportunity to come back to the sceneof the crime, I'm very excited about that," he said.
"I'm going to be around. I'm not one of theseindividuals who's going to be here basically for my looks.
"It's all about helping some of these youngindividuals." An explosive and prolific batsman of his time, Richards, whowas named along with Australian spin legend Shane Warne in Wisden's list of thefive cricketers of the 20th century, will join the team's support staff.
"I'm one of these individuals who try to keep things assimple as possible," he said. "Sometimes, you get coaches in themodern day who, there's so many little things you hear them speak about.
"The game of cricket is still the same. It's still the sameroutine that you go through. I've always been in that lane - to be as simple aspossible," said Richards. For a man who led the West Indies to consecutiveWorld Cup wins in the 1970s in one-day cricket and also dominate the Test scenein the 1980s, Richards knows all about the pressure of expectation.
"Part of our job with that star-studded team in the backgroundis for us to just keep things at the level ... to be in that particular lanewhere individuals mentally are solid enough to do the job," said theformer Windies skipper.
"People like Ian Chappell, who I've always hadadmiration for, he's as good as anyone else to be direct.
"That's the way I love it."