Video: Botham At 60 - Happy birthday to one of England’s greatest ...
Fans who never saw him play, and there are plenty, know exactly what that means. A tiny percentage of cricket-lovers across the world have set foot in
Leeds, but a great many more would light up at the words ‘Headingley ‘81’.
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Hide AdThat match more than most, sums up the appeal that has kept Botham’s name on so many lips for so long.
Click on the video link above to watch some of Ian Botham’s best moments playing for England
The numbers are beguiling enough - victory odds of 500-1 shot made good, a second innings masterpiece worth 149 not out and seven wickets in the match.
But to see the match unfold, even now, is true sporting spectacle - our bearded protagonist flaying the Australian attack with muscular mercilessness, charging
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Hide Adin to pick off batsmen through force of will, galloping through the crowd as they raced on to the pitch.
It is said of a famous 1976 Sex Pistols gig at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall that every member of the audience went on to form a band of their own.
How many who saw Botham’s bravura best five years later went out and picked up a bat?
How many who already had one decided to swing it that little bit harder?
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Hide AdHow many still do, seeking their own minor taste of something ‘Botham-esque’?
Flintoff, for one, joked that he had dropped his shopping the first time he met his great predessor. James Anderson admitted that the series later known as
‘Botham’s Ashes’ was on heavy rotation on his childhood VHS player.
When Anderson replaced Botham as the most prolific England wicket-taker in Tests in April, the mutual appreciation flowed.
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Hide AdBotham’s mark of 383 scalps - achieved through prolific away swing and endless reserves of competitiveness - had stood unchallenged for 23 years.
A couple of days before toppling it in Antigua, Anderson said: “I was born in 1982 but my Dad had the ‘81 Ashes video and growing up I had that on all the
time.
“He’s a legend of the game and a legend of English cricket. For me to have the opportunity to go past him is a dream come true.
“For a bowler there’s no greater achievement.”
Botham, stationed in the press box when Anderson’s moment came, met Anderson with a congratulatory handshake as he left the pitch - and the promise of a
fitting gift.
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Hide Ad“I’m absolutely delighted for him that he has finally overtaken me,” he said Botham.
“I’ve got something for him in the UK - it’s the largest bottle of wine that I’ve been able to find. It’s about as big as Jimmy.”
That Botham sought such pleasures off the field has never been a secret. He was banned from cricket for two months in 1986 after admitting marijuana use, felt
compelled to sub-title his autobiography ‘Don’t Tell Kath’ in acknowledgement of his wife, and never saw eye to eye with those who administered the sport he
shone in.
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Hide AdYet at the age of 60 he is safely considered establishment enough for a knighthood and is preparing his long-suffering feet for another mammoth charity
walk, this time in South Africa.
Funds raised since he started the initiative in 1985 lie north of #13m.
Sporting excellence, triumph in adversity, moments of personal weakness and a proud history of benevolence: Botham-esque continues to mean many things to many
people.