XtraTime Web Desk: The third Test of the ongoing series between England and West Indies, which starts at Old Trafford on Friday will be the last time the two sides compete for the Wisden Trophy, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket West Indies (CWI) have announced. In its place the new Richards-Botham Trophy will now be designed ready for when the teams next meet in a Test series.
The title honours Sir Vivian Richards, one of cricket’s greatest batsmen who scored more than 8,500 runs in a 121-Test career, and Sir Ian Botham, the legendary all-rounder who scored more than 5,000 runs and took 383 wickets in 102 Tests. Fierce competitors on the pitch, the pair developed a great friendship off it which still endures, and the new trophy is a fitting way to celebrate the warm relationship between the nations and to honour the gladiatorial spirit of contests past and present.
The Wisden Trophy, first introduced in 1963 to commemorate the hundredth edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, will now be retired and will be displayed at the MCC Museum at Lord’s where it has traditionally been kept.
Commenting on the honour, Sir Vivian Richards said: “To have this trophy named in honour 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.”
Sir Ian 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.”