Hailed as one of the best all-rounders, Sir Ian Botham is in the same league with Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee, and Imran Khan. He represented the English Cricket team in test and one-day cricket matches and showed phenomenal cricket that the whole world needed at some point.
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An aggressive right-handed batsman and swing bowler Ian Botham is known for his many feats as a cricketer. Botham played excellent cricket for Somerset, Worcestershire, Durham, and Queensland.
Sir Ian was a fine fast-medium swing bowler; he held the world record for getting the most test wickets between 1986 to 1988. Also, he usually used to field in the slips. For a short demonstration of his bowling genius, we can cite his record of getting five wickets in an innings 27 times.
His batting and bowling influenced the England cricket team and the global cricketers. Following several health conditions, Botham had to leave the cricket field.
The following article is all about Sir Ian Botham and his career as a cricketer. If you want to know about his life as a cricketer, I suggest you go through this article here.
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Who Is Ian Botham?
Ian Terence Botham is a former cricketer of the England international cricket team. He is also a commentator, House of Lords Member, and the chairman of the Durham County Cricket Club. Botham was born on 24th November 1955.
Botham has a huge physique; he is 6’2” tall. He had nicknames like Beefy, Guy the Gorilla.
Botham was the son of a Fleet Air Arm soldier and a nurse. His father served under the Fleet Air Arm for twenty years. He inherited his knack for cricket from his parents. His father played for the Westland Sports Club, while his mother was the captain of the Sherborne nursing service team.
“One day, when Botham was seven, his mother found him scribbling something repetitively on a paper. When she asked what he was doing, he replied that one day people will ask him for an autograph and he was practicing his signature.”
His love for cricket was budding inside before he enrolled in school. His parents moved to Yeovil before he was three, and Botham used to climb through the fence of the Yeovil Boy’s Grammar School to see the little students play cricket.
Not just cricket, but Botham also played football. When he attended the Milford Junior School, his love for cricket manifested him as a full-fledged cricketer. His consecutive matches with older boys matured him as a cricketer at a very early age.
He even went to play with his father– according to whom Botham used to get praise for batting, bowling, and fielding.
In 1972, a 16 years old Ian Botham left school to play cricket for Somerset. Unfortunately, he had to remain as a ground boy.
His period of struggle took some time to end. The ground boy finally got his moment to shine when he was asked to play for the under 25 teams of Somerset. Botham proved his worth by scoring 91 runs and taking three wickets against Glamorgan Under 25.
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“Botham and Viv Richards were best friends. They rented an apartment together, lived together, and went on a trip to Yeovil together. Viv was also the godfather of Botham’s son Liam.”
My cricket career started from this point on. Later he played for Somerset, the England team, Worcestershire, and Durham.
Although there have been a few controversies centering him–, all of those fall short in front of the charity walks he did to raise millions of pounds for Leukemia patients. The Queen of England also knighted this excellent cricket for his contribution both as a cricketer and as a charity worker.
“Sir Botham is Colorblind.”
Ian Botham Cricket Career
While his numbers as a cricketer might not be as impressive as the likes of Garfield Sobers, his test cricket scores are remarkable. His cricket career ended in the 1992 World Cup ( where he faced off against the later to-be legend Sachin Tendulkar for the first and only time), but Botham gave a good display of cricket to the world to remember him by.
Batting & Fielding
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Cts | Sts |
| Test | 102 | 161 | 6 | 5200 | 208 | 33.5 | 8565 | 60.71 | 14 | 22 | 621 | 67 | 120 | 0 |
| ODI | 116 | 106 | 15 | 2113 | 79 | 23.21 | 2671 | 79.10 | 0 | 9 | 197 | 44 | 36 | 0 |
| FC | 402 | 617 | 46 | 19399 | 228 | 33.97 | 38 | 97 | 354 | 0 | ||||
| List A | 470 | 419 | 64 | 10447 | 175* | 29.50 | 7 | 46 | 196 | 0 |
Bowling
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBm | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
| Test | 102 | 168 | 21815 | 10878 | 383 | 8/34 | 13/106 | 28.4 | 2.99 | 56.9 | 17 | 27 | 4 |
| ODI | 116 | 115 | 6271 | 4139 | 145 | 4/31 | 4/31 | 28.54 | 3.96 | 43.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| FC | 402 | 63547 | 31902 | 1172 | 8/34 | 27.22 | 3.01 | 54.2 | 59 | 8 | |||
| List A | 470 | 22899 | 15264 | 612 | 5/27 | 24.94 | 3.99 | 37.4 | 15 | 3 | 0 |
Frequently Asked Questions
I hope I have covered pretty much everything you need to know about Sir Ian Botham as a cricketer in brief detail. However, if you have any more questions, the following questions may help answer a few of them–
How Fast Did Ian Botham Bowl?
Botham had an average of 28.44. His strike rate is around 57.
How Much Has Ian Botham Raised For Charity?
Botham is the president of Leukemia Research. His charitable work for Leukemia patients raised a massive fund of £8 million.
He conducted 11 charity walks to raise funds for cancer patients.
Did Ian Botham Play Professional Football?
Ian is not only an all-rounder cricketer, but he was also a footballer, and he played football professionally for a few seasons. But his great love of cricket made him a cricketer.
Why Is Ian Botham Famous?
Botham is an inspiration to both global and England national players. He was also into charity work, and he raised funds for Leukemia.
The All-Rounder!
Botham had to retire from his career as a cricketer following the injuries taking a toll on him. But the legacy as a cricketer he left behind will always be remembered. He is a great commentator. He is also the chairman of the Durham County Cricket Club since 2017.
I hope you liked this short biography of Sir Ian Botham. If you have any queries or opinions, please share them in the comment section.
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