England and the West Indies will be fighting for the new Richards-Botham Trophy when they meet next for a Test series, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced Thursday. The trophy has been renamed in order to honor of West Indies batting great Vivian Richards and celebrated England all-rounder Ian Botham as they shared the same dressing room while playing for Somerset before becoming opponents on the world stage.
It will be the Wisden Trophy that is up for grabs when the third and final Test of the ongoing series will commence at Old Trafford on Friday, with England and the West Indies locked at 1-1.
Acknowledging the honor, as per the quotes in NDTV, Richards said, “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.”
ALSO READ: Jofra Archer Returns To English Team For The Final Test
Richards played some of his best knocks against England, including a majestic 291 at the Oval in 1976 and a blistering unbeaten century in West Indies’ World Cup final win at Lord’s three years later.
Talking about the same, Sir Viv Richards said, “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 of one my best friends. “We were competitors on the field, but we showed we were brothers off the field.”
Botham, 64, who scored more than 5,000 runs and took 383 wickets in 102 Tests also played some match-winning knocks for England.
ALSO READ: IPL Governing Council Head Reveals The Venues For The 2020 Edition
Botham had 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.”
The Wisden Trophy will be ‘retired’ and displayed in the MCC Museum at Lord’s, where it has traditionally been kept.
