Richards-Botham Trophy for England-West Indies tests

A new trophy in honor of cricket greats Viv Richards and Ian Botham will be awarded to future winners of West Indies-England test series.

The Richards-Botham Trophy is named after the two stars who played county cricket together at Somerset and were rivals on the international stage.

“We showed we were brothers off the field. I’m proud to have my name on one side of the trophy with him (Botham) on the other side,” Richards said.

Widely rated as one of the greatest batters ever, Richards scored 8,540 runs in 121 tests, including 829 runs in the 1976 series against England. Allrounder Botham took 383 wickets and scored 5,200 runs in 102 tests for England.

The ongoing three-test series between England and West Indies stands at 1-1 with the third test to start Friday at Old Trafford. It will be the last series where the current Wisden Trophy is up for grabs, with the silverware heading for retirement in the MCC Museum at Lord’s.

Image credits: AP