Viv Richards to team up with Warne as Melbourne mentor in Big Bash

Melbourne: West Indian batting legend, Vivian Richards is set to team up with spin great Shane Warne as Melbourne Stars team mentor in the Australian Big Bash Twenty20 League this season, according to a report.

Richards, one of the most destructive batsmen of all time, was approached by Melbourne captain Warne to join the MCG-based team`s support staff as he will be in Australia to commentate when the Caribbean team tours in January and February for an ODI series. Warne asked Richards if he was interested to come to Australia a bit early to be there at the time when Big Bash starts in December. A Melbourne Stars spokesperson said the deal could be a massive marketing and promotional coup. "We`re in conversations with Viv and his management about him joining the Melbourne Stars team as a mentor. If we`re able to secure his services, he`d be an absolute asset for our team," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by a leading Australian daily. The Antiguan legend, 60, thrilled Australian audiences through the 1970s and 80s as a lynchpin of the swashbuckling world champion West Indies team. He scored 8,450 Test runs in a glittering career from 1974 to 1991. Richards would add to an already big-name Melbourne Stars staff, with Ian Chappell on board as selection chairman. PTI