Botham definitely rates Viv as the greatest. I have seen Botham's interview (it is a BBC video of great cricketers including Botham, and might still be available) where he says something like "They say Sir Don was good, Sir Don was great but it is hard for me to believe he could have been any better than Viv.". Below is a link to another interview.
Botham - I regard [Viv Richards] as the best player who ever played cricket.
In the above interview, Botham pretty much tells the same thing that despite Bradman's freak stats, it is hard for him (Botham) to comprehend that Bradman was better than Viv. Not sure if this statement/interview was hyped. A lot of times, for the sake of grabbing public attention (and profit), Media usually highlights or hypes one particular statement, amongst many, made about a famous (or infamous) person by another famous person, and puts it out of context. Media feeds the public and the public fever, in return, feeds the media, like an out-of-control feedback system, and soon this larger-than-life image is created. Especially in countries like India where cricket is the only sport followed, and where sports media coverage is extensive. For example, during 1996-97 Tri-Series Down Under, Sir Don Bradman said Wasim Akram was the greatest left arm fast bowler ever. But Pakistani media wasn't extensive enough to catch the statement and hype it to the skies. Even the same person can say different things at different times depending on how the interviewer poses the question and the situation in which he is speaking.
In any case different cricketers have different opinions based on their own experiences. I haven't come across aggressive fast bowlers of the quality of Dennis Lillee, Imran Khan and Michael Holding appreciating a batsman as much as they appreciated Viv.
Imran actually admits that his bouncers were useless against Viv (this is a first time I have heard any aggressive fast bowler of that standard say something like that.).
In his book - DENNIS ‘THE MENACE’ LILLEE (published in 2004), Dennis Lillee writes (rating Viv as the best batsman he has bowled at) - “
For sheer ability to rip an attack apart, animal brutality and no fear in taking you on, I have to put Viv Richards on top of the list. I just loved bowling against the man. I enjoyed it because it was such a challenge and I regarded him as one of the supreme players if not the supreme player.”
Holding and Marshall too has similar things to say about Viv, and put him as the second best batsman, in their opinion, after Lawrence Rowe.
Back in late 2005, there was a small cricket panel discussion between different cricket commentators (Tony Greig, Ian Chappell, Ravi Shastri and John Wright) as to who the best batsman of Tendulkar-Lara era was. Chappell, Shastri and Greig picked Lara while Wright picked both Lara and Tendulkar and said there was just no point in trying to pick one of these two, as they both belonged to a different league compared to the rest in their era.
In another panel involving Gavaskar, Harsha Bhogle and couple of others, exactly opposite happened.
As I said earlier, it is subjective. There are no absolutes. Everyone has the right to form their own opinion. It depends on what (or whom) they like to watch, and why they follow the sport itself.
