SIMON HUGHES: He turned matches with his personality as much as his all-round skill. It is for that reason that he is ranked second – behind Garfield Sobers – in the official ICC list of the greatest allrounders
Ian Botham was born on November 24, 1955. He is 65 today.
Anyone over the age of 40 will remember his amazing prowess on a cricket field. The statistics are remarkable enough, but it was the impregnable self-belief, the total conviction, that was even more powerful, galvanising his own team and debilitating the opposition.
He turned matches with his personality as much as his all-round skill. It is for that reason that he is ranked second – behind Garfield Sobers – in the official ICC list of the greatest allrounders.
We celebrate his achievements with a wide-ranging interview in the December issue of The Cricketer magazine, and also in the latest The Analyst: Inside Cricket podcast, in which his wife and lifetime companion Kath talks about what its been like living with him for the last 40 years. I would imagine it has been a combination of inspiring and exhausting. He is a man of restless energy. There is no danger of him retiring at 65.
Indeed, never mind his achievements on the field. Perhaps his impact off it has been even greater. Initially this was employing his generosity and iron constitution to nullify the threat of vital opponents.
He threw lavish barbeques when matches were in the vicinity of his north Yorkshire home and kept up leading members of the opposition as late as possible. He actually ‘locked’ Essex’s Graham Gooch and Derek Pringle, and me, in his wine cellar one evening until he was sure they wouldn’t be able to perform the next day (I, his Durham colleague, was obviously deemed expendable).
Sir Ian Botham with Joe Root
As we staggered to bed in a nearby B&B at 4am I said to Gooch – “I’ll be bowling at you in six hours' time.” “Oh gawd,” said Gooch sheepishly. Sure enough at 10.30am I ran into bowl the first over of a one-day match at Hartlepool. Gooch failed to hit any of the first five deliveries and was lbw to the sixth. England (and Durham) lost that important influence when he retired.
But above all else has been his exceptional contribution to medical science. His 16 charity walks not only raised over £20million for Leukaemia research, but the awareness about the disease his campaigns created has increased survival rates of children suffering the disease from 20% to 80%. I went on a couple of his walks.
"Great to see you, Yozzer," he said, when I turned up on the third night of one, "but you’re two days late. That’s a pound in the kitty."
"What for, to buy you a razor?" I retorted. His beloved moustache was for once submerged in a field of stubble.
"I shouldn’t mention hair growth if I were you," he countered. "That’s another pound for being balder than last time." The desire to have the last word is embedded in his uncompromising personality.
But his galvanising influence coursed through the entourage. He’d be barking at everyone to be ready for the off by just after 9am and he wouldn’t let up until we’d reached our destination seven hours and 30 miles later. Fifteen or 20 of us would have to practically jog to keep up with his punishing walking pace as we made our way along the North Wales coast, the road lined with cheering well-wishers.
Our collecting buckets were soon full of loose change.
Sometimes people too infirm to come to the roadside would beckon to us to the front door to make a donation. There was no lull or lunch break. Our legs ached when we had reached the next overnight stop. His did too and his feet were badly blistered but he was always up and ready for the next instalment. He’d do that 30 days in a row. He never had a break. His commitment was extraordinary. But it always is, and it always will be.
And for those too young to remember his impact on the field, have a look at his grandson James playing for Wales against England in the rugby this weekend.
Like grandfather like grandson; just in a different coloured shirt.
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Posted by Marc Evans on 27/11/2020 at 18:34
After today's comments by Andy Murray saying Lewis Hamilton deserves a knighthood, you have to compare his achievements with Sir Ian. They don't yet match up. You should be something greater than whatever you're best known for to warrant a knighthood, which is why Alistair Cook's investiture was to me as yet unjustified. Unfortunately it could be PC job because of his 'Black Lives Matter' stance, although as an individual he hasn't yet made much in the way of active contributions to the cause. But as we have seen with Marcus Rashford, who's not exactly tearing up trees as a footballer, this cause has potent influence with those giving out recognition.
Posted by Andrew Dow on 27/11/2020 at 18:22
If only we had someone like Ian Botham in charge of the country right now, instead of their own self interest, and who got things done. When people wonder what a force of nature is, they need look no further.