Interview with International and Somerset cricketers Ian Botham and Viv Richards

Ian Botham and Viv Richards are interviewed together at County Ground Taunton at the end of the domestic season in September 1980. A flary, fiery, flamboyant player, on and off the field, Botham could turn a match. Viv Richard's unique batting style earned him a top five place in Wisden's Cricketers of the Century.

Botham began his first class career in 1974 with Somerset Cricket Club and went on to an England career but his captaincy of the side was short-lived. In the mid-1980s, new Somerset cricket captain Peter Roebuck sacked the overseas stars Viv Richards and Joel Garner and brought in the New Zealander Martin Crowe in an attempt to renew an ageing team. Ian Botham resigned in protest and moved to Worcestershire and Durham before retiring from the game in 1993. Botham was also a talented footballer and played for Scunthorpe United but turned down an offer to play with Crystal Palace FC. Viv Richards made his first class debut in 1972 for Leeward Islands and moved to Taunton in 1974. He went on to captain the West Indies.