Richards-Botham Trophy: England-West Indies friendship has new name

England may be trying to turn a corner West Indies know only too well, and thoughts of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad kicking their heels at home will take some shifting by their replacements, but the three-Test series that begins at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Tuesday has a greater significance.

On Sunday evening, the newly minted Richards-Botham Trophy was unveiled by the two cricketing titans who made their debuts together for Somerset in 1974, shared an apparently riotous flat in Taunton and have been like brothers ever since. Richards, 70 on Monday, remains in incredible physical nick, as if he could swagger out to the middle this week with gum in mouth and bat in hand ready to strike the fear of God into his opponents; Ian Botham, four years younger but fuller in figure and with the hobbling gait of an old bowler, would probably still back himself. When has he ever not?

Their fortunes during past battles may see some quibble here. Richards dominated England back in the day, a Test average of 62 against them his highest of all teams faced, but Botham less so against the great West Indies team he rates as the best in history. But the renaming of the trophy – if slightly unnecessary given the backstory of the Wisden Trophy and Learie Constantine’s involvement – is about a celebration of friendship between cricket in the Caribbean and England.

This was certainly in evidence two years ago when West Indies unflinchingly answered English cricket’s SOS, flying their Test team to the UK during the height of the pandemic. The players took a 50% pay cut in order to help out a board that struggles financially during the good times, let alone when the world has stopped, and the conditions they met were unprecedented.

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