Somerset, UK – The Somerset Cricket Museum has received a special piece of cricketing history — a bat used by Sir Viv Richards during his 1979 season with Somerset — thanks to a heartfelt donation from a local family with deep ties to the game.
The bat was presented to Museum Trustee Mike Unwin before Somerset’s Vitality Blast match against Gloucestershire on Friday. The handover was made by Denise Marsh, on behalf of her father, Roy Williams, a 94-year-old former bank manager from Minehead.
Williams, who once worked in Taunton and had connections with Taunton Cricket Club, recalled the significance of the bat and the unique sponsorship arrangement surrounding it.
“If my memory serves me correctly, this sponsorship was the first one that Viv received in his cricketing career with Somerset,” said Roy. “In fact, it may be the only sponsorship he received as, of course, sponsorships were more rare in the 70s.”
In 1979, Urch Harris (Stamp Dealers) sponsored Richards for £1 per run. Sir Viv scored around 1,500 runs that summer, earning a tidy sum through this then-rare sponsorship.
According to Roy, the bat had been presented to Viv at the ground after the season. When the West Indies legend deposited the cheque for the sponsorship, the bat — unable to go through the banking system — was left with Roy, who preserved it for over four decades.
“Time has taken its toll on the handle of the bat,” Roy noted, “but I have cared for it ever since. Viv was a very humble man off the field. We had a good banker/customer relationship.”
Roy also recalled a later meeting with Sir Viv: “I had the pleasure of meeting him again about 12 years ago when he visited Minehead, where I am living in retirement.”
“A marvellous addition” to Somerset’s cricket heritage
Mike Unwin, receiving the donation, expressed the museum’s gratitude: “This is a marvellous addition to our collection and we are most appreciative of this donation. It will take pride of place in the Museum, either in the bat collection or alongside the tribute to Viv.”
The bat now serves not just as a historical artifact, but as a tangible reminder of Sir Viv Richards’ iconic tenure at Somerset and the evolving nature of cricket sponsorship during the late 20th century.
