'Botham hit it hard, but Viv hit it harder'

It was a Joel Garner benefit game just after Somerset sacked Garner and Viv Richards. Our club chairman at Tring Park organised the game. He knew someone down at Somerset. It was bizarre to see our club house packed full of great cricketers. Must have been 6000 spectators at the ground.

I didn't usually bowl that much, but I was sending down a few rubbish offspinners at Ian Botham and Richards to see how far they could hit it.

Botham went for the big slog sweep, with that big, heavy Duncan Fearnley bat. It went off the top edge and was heading over the boundary when our deep-midwicket fielder launched himself in the air and took a stunning diving catch right in front of the pavilion.

As Botham walked off, he said to the fielder, "People have come here to watch me bat, not to watch you take great catches."

Viv hit the most sublime hundred, off 50 or 60 balls. Lots of sixes. All the bowlers went for plenty. He kept hitting it over the scoreboard and into the 2nd-team ground, where people had parked their cars.

The crowd were enjoying watching him bat, so thought I'd float a few up to see how far he could hit it.

When Viv had 60-odd, he miscued one straight down long-off's throat, but the fielder went with such hard hands that it must have bounced about four feet out of his hands and over the boundary for four.

After Viv got his hundred, I was back on again, bowling the same rubbish spin, and Viv, by this time, had decided he'd had enough. So he hits one straight up in the air towards long-off, straight to the same fielder and starts walking off. Unfortunately, our man never looked like catching it. So next ball, Viv tries it again. This time the fielder ran the wrong way and the ball went for four. Everyone just fell about laughing. Viv turned to our wicketkeeper. "Is there anyone in this team who can catch?" he asked.

Botham and Richards almost didn't turn up in time for the game. They had gone to the pub down the road for a few pre-match beers. When they got to the ground, they asked for two pints of Guinness to be sent into the dressing room. There they were, two cricket legends, dipping sausage rolls in the beer and eating them.

It was an incredible experience. They were two of the very best cricketers in the world at the time. Botham hit it hard, but Viv hit it harder - timed it rather than smashed it.

I've played against some pretty good club and minor county players, but the difference with those two was the time that they had to play the shots; so much more than anybody else you'll ever see.