He is also known fondly as Beefy and Guy the Gorilla due to his large build.
His famous play during the 1981 Test series resulted in the 1981 Ashes between England and Australia becoming known as Botham’s Ashes. On the 4th day of the Headingly Test, whilst England was predicted to lose by the Bookies at an odds of 500-1, Botham single-handedly made the comeback with his innings of 149 not-out.
Ian Botham's performance against Pakistan at Lord's on June 19, 1978 is one of the most iconic moments in cricket history. He scored 149 runs and took 8 wickets in the same innings, becoming the first player to do so in Test match cricket.
Botham's performance was especially remarkable because it came at a time when England were struggling to compete against Pakistan. The tourists had won the first Test of the series, and they were looking to take a 2-0 lead at Lord's. However, Botham's batting and bowling turned the game on its head. He batted with great power and aggression, and he took wickets with both pace and spin. His performance inspired his teammates, and England went on to win the match by an innings and 55 runs.
His famous play during the 1981 Test series resulted in the 1981 Ashes between England and Australia becoming known as Botham’s Ashes. On the 4th day of the Headingly Test, whilst England was predicted to lose by the Bookies at an odds of 500-1, Botham single-handedly made the comeback with his innings of 149 not-out.
On five occasions, Botham scored a century and took five wickets in an innings in the same Test match, No other player has done this more than three times.
In 1986 he was suspended for smoking cannabis
In 102 Tests for England between 1977 and 1992, Botham became the first player in Test cricket to score over 5,000 runs as well as take over 300 wickets. He once held the record for the highest number of Test wickets taken by an England player (383).
During his time playing first-class, Botham scored 19,399 runs at 33.97, took 1,172 wickets at 27.22 and held 354 catches.
Botham was always very talented at football as well as cricket and made 18 appearances as a centre half for Yeovil Town and Scunthorpe.
Botham has been a prodigious fundraiser for charitable causes, undertaking a total of 12 long-distance charity walks. His efforts were inspired after a visit to Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital whilst receiving treatment for a broken toe; when he took a wrong turn into a children's ward, he was devastated to learn that some of the children had only weeks to live, and why.
Because of such efforts, together with his spectacular cricketing achievements Botham was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007 at Buckingham Palace.
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| Botham batting at Trent Bridge, 1983 |
During his time playing first-class, Botham scored 19,399 runs at 33.97, took 1,172 wickets at 27.22 and held 354 catches.
Botham was always very talented at football as well as cricket and made 18 appearances as a centre half for Yeovil Town and Scunthorpe.
Botham has been a prodigious fundraiser for charitable causes, undertaking a total of 12 long-distance charity walks. His efforts were inspired after a visit to Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital whilst receiving treatment for a broken toe; when he took a wrong turn into a children's ward, he was devastated to learn that some of the children had only weeks to live, and why.
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| Botham in 2013. By Nic Redhead - Flickr: Sky Team |
Because of such efforts, together with his spectacular cricketing achievements Botham was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007 at Buckingham Palace.
Ian Botham married Kathryn "Kath" Botham, in 1976. They have three children together: Liam, Sarah, and Becky.
Liam Botham started his career as a cricketer, playing for Hampshire County Cricket Club. He made his first-class debut in 1996 at the age of 18. He played three matches for Hampshire in his first season, and he took the wicket of former England captain Mike Gatting on his debut.
However, Liam soon realized that cricket was not his calling. In 1997, at the age of 20, he signed up for Rugby Union club West Hartlepool. He switched to Rugby League in 2003, signing for the Leeds Rhinos. He also played for London Broncos and Wigan Warriors,
The Bothams have had a turbulent marriage at times. In 1992, Ian confessed to having an affair with an Australian waitress. The affair nearly ended their marriage, but Ian made a public apology.
Botham is a keen trout and salmon fisherman. As a result, he was invited to present a TV series called Botham on the Fly where he fly fishes with guests in some of England, Scotland and Wales famous rivers.
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