England-West Indies to replace the Wisden Trophy with Richards-Botham Trophy

 

England and Wales Cricket Board(ECB) and West Indies Cricket Board(WICB) have jointly decided to replace the Wisden Trophy with Richards-Botham Trophy in order to pay tribute to the cricketing giant of two countries i.e Sir Viv Richards and Ian Botham.

The two sides will compete for the Richards-Botham Trophy whenever they play a bilateral Test series against each other in the future. The Wisden Trophy will now be kept in MCC Museum at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.

“This is a huge honor for my good friend Ian and myself. I am delighted to know that the game that I have shown my love for since a little boy is naming such a prestigious award in my recognition of what I managed to achieve as a cricketer,” Richards said in a statement shared on CWI website.

“When I had the opportunity to go to England and represent Somerset, one of the first persons I met was Ian Botham, who would later become one of my best friends. We are friends for life.

“To have this trophy – West Indies vs England – named in honor of our work on the cricket field is great. What I think is also remarkable is that it says a lot about our relationship off the field as well. We were competitors on the field, but we showed we were brothers off the field. I’m proud to have my name on one side of the trophy with him on the other side,” he added.

Botham said: “Viv was the finest batsman I ever played against. He’s a great friend but we’ve always been competitive, not least when we were on the cricket field, and there was no one else’s wicket I would treasure more.”

“Playing the West Indies was always one of the toughest tests in cricket, and it’s an honor for this trophy to bear our names. I hope future series will be just as exciting as the one we’ve all been enjoying this summer,” he added.

Richards scored 829 runs in 1976 Test series against England at an average of 118.42 and West Indies clinched that series by 3-0. He also scored two double centuries in that series which included 232 in the first test and 291 in the fifth test.

Botham also had an interesting record against the Caribbean side as he took 61 wickets at an average of 35 with three-five wickets haul and a best bowing figure of 8/103 at Lords.