England and the West Indies will contest the new Richards-Botham Trophy when they next meet in a Test series, the England and Wales Cricket...
England and the West Indies will contest the new Richards-Botham Trophy when they next meet in a Test series, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Thursday.
The trophy has been named in honour of West Indies batting great Vivian Richards and celebrated England all-rounder Ian Botham, who were team-mates at English county 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 current campaign gets underway at Old Trafford on Friday, with England and the West Indies locked at 1-1.
That was introduced in 1963 to mark the centenary of the Wisden Almanack ‘cricket’s bible’, with Caribbean cricket great Learie Constantine a key mover behind its inception.
But former England captain Mike Atherton recently suggested the teams should compete for a prize named after outstanding cricketers as happens when Australia and India contest the (Allan) Border-(Sunil) Gavaskar Trophy.
“This is a huge honour for my good friend Ian and myself,” said Richards, who scored more than 8,500 runs during a 121-Test career.
“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...