‘All lives matter’ – says ‘Blood brothers’ Sir Ian Botham and Sir Viv Richards and they are still playing their shots
‘All lives matter’ say brothers-in-arms Richards and Botham
Sir Ian Botham and Sir Viv Richards are chatting on Zoom like the old friends they are, about their families, their golf, and the Yeovil laundrette they used during their time at Somerset.
But the conversation, which is taking place because the ECB and Cricket West Indies have decided that the Wisden Trophy will henceforth be called the Richards-Botham Trophy, is never dull. At times, it feels like the good-natured partnerships they shared at Taunton trying to outhit each other over the River Tone.
Botham is 64 now, and Richards 68. Between them, they’ve seen it all, racked up 223 Test appearances, 13,740 runs and 415 wickets (most of them, admittedly, Botham’s). Yet they are both clearly touched by the honour, which means Wisden’s 57-year association with England-West Indies series will end after the decisive third Test, starting on Friday in Manchester.
Richards calls Botham a ‘dear friend’; Botham calls Richards ‘a blood brother’. Only one team came out on top when they met in Tests, but the mutual respect never dimmed. Actually, it’s more like love.
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‘We were sending the message long ago that you can get along,’ Richards tells Sky Sports. ‘Ian got a lot of hate-mail at times for being my friend. I think that was coming from some nasty folks who never quite believed in togetherness.
‘What I can say to Ian? I can thank him so much for being in my corner. We just represented what I think people should be representing: that we’re all human beings, and that’s the most important thing.’
Botham jumps in: ‘I said throughout my career, I don’t care if a guy comes from Mars and he’s blue. It’s the person you meet and bond with.’
Later, when Botham tells Sportsmail that ‘all lives matter’ – a line with which Richards agrees – he does so not out of disrespect for the Black Lives Matter movement, but because he simply can’t envisage a world in which one race places itself above another. For him, the very discussion seems ‘a bit alien’.
The pair spoke to Sportsmail’s Lawrence Booth and Sky Sports over a Zoom conversation
Famously, Botham declined to take part in either of English cricket’s two rebel tours of apartheid South Africa – another defining moment in his friendship with Richards.
‘The thing that finally finished me with all that was when they turned round to Viv and said: “We’ll make you an honorary white man.” I said: “Hang on, where’s this going?”
‘He’s black and he’s proud and magnificent and a great guy. He doesn’t want to be an honorary white man any more than I want to be an honorary black man.’
It is no coincidence that the timing of the trophy’s re-designation chimes with the mood of West Indies’ visit. Both sets of players took a knee before the first Test in Southampton, while the tourists – led by the impressive Jason Holder – wore a black glove on their right fist in a nod to the Black Power salutes by American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics.
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It has been decided that Wisden Trophy will henceforth be called the Richards-Botham Trophy
For Richards, who used to bat wearing the green, yellow and red Rastafarian wristband, the subject has always been close to his heart.
‘I most certainly agree with Ian when he says all lives matter,’ he says. ‘It’s been highlighted now because of the events we’ve seen played out in America – this hate towards our colour. If we have respect for one another, these things wouldn’t come into the equation.
‘Look at Covid. We are not in control. This warfare is hitting everyone – not just black or white, but every race and every country on earth. We should all just sit back and reflect on where we’d like to be.
‘When we look at some of the more powerful countries who have these huge bombs – can they attack Covid with these destructive weapons? No! Let us put our energies into things that matter when it comes to human beings. And when we do that, we’re going to have a better world.’
Richards hooks Botham during the Fifth Test at the Oval in London in August 1984
Botham has already made clear his views on equality: ‘It’s just automatic to me. I don’t really understand some of the thoughts or why some people react the way they have. We’re all together in this.
‘The world might not be together in 100 years’ time. Watch those Russians! You never know what might happen. You’ve got to make the most of it and live for today. You’ve got to be able to share and enjoy life.’
Forty-six years on from the morning in May when the two men made their county championship debut together against Lancashire at Taunton, Ian Botham and Viv Richards are playing as many shots as ever.
