Dominant and domineering, Ian Botham is not only the best English cricketer of the 1980s, but he was also the most well-known sports figure.
Botham is interested in a variety of sports outside cricket. He had to decide between football and cricket as a career because he was a gifted football player in school but he eventually decided on cricket. He enjoys shooting, fishing, and golfing among other things. He has received a life peerage as well as a knighthood.
| Born: 24th November 1955 | Nationality: England |
| Years Active: (1977-1992) | Birth Place: Heswall, Cheshire |
| Height: 6 ft 0 in | Role: All-rounder |
| Batting Style: Right-Handed Bat | Bowling Style: Right-arm fast-medium |
| Nickname: Beefy, Both, Guy the Gorilla |
Herbert Leslie ("Les") Botham and Violet Marie, née Collett, welcomed Ian Botham into the world in Heswall, Cheshire. His mother was a nurse and his father had served in the Fleet Air Arm for twenty years during the Second World War.
Botham was incredibly excited about cricket before he entered the school. When he was just four, he returned home with a cricket ball and questioned his mother “Do you know how to grip a ball when you're going to bowl a daisy-cutter? After demonstrating the grip, he left to practice bowling it.
His first cricket debut was in 1977, he was without a doubt the best all-around player in the nation; within three years, he became captain; within four years, he had quit (a minute before being fired), his form in shambles.
Geoffrey Boycott's return from his self-imposed Test exile somewhat overshadowed his debut. After the first Test ended in a tie, England went into the game leading the series 1-0. Botham’s bowling at Trent Bridge impresses everyone present there.
He won two prizes after a successful debut as a Test player. The Cricket Writers' Club named him Young Cricketer of the Year for 1977, and one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
He served as a captain in a test match. However, in his defense, nine of his matches as captain were played against the West Indies, the finest team at the time, who went on to win 12 of the following 13 tests against England.
With 14 hundred and 383 wickets in Test cricket, he was a true all-rounder. He is still well recognized by the nicknames "Beefy" and "Guy the Gorilla."
Beefy approached sports with a British bulldog mentality. He was a potent fast-medium bowler who could swing the ball through the air and was able to quickly counter any attack. He possessed incredible force while driving and hooking the ball, and as he stood at slip, his expertly safe pair of hands completed his aura as the best all-arounder.
However, as is more frequently the case with all-rounders, Botham battled with his fitness and form in the late 1980s. He ended his stellar career and retired from international cricket in the summer of 1992.
The talented all-experience rounder's leading England to a 12-match losing streak as their Test captain was less than stellar.
The majority of these games were played against the powerful Windies, as Botham's passionate admirers would undoubtedly point out, but it is clear to argue that captaincy did have an effect on his performances.
Between 1986 and 1988, Botham held the world record for the most Test wickets before being surpassed by fellow all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee.
In Test cricket, Botham scored 14 hundred, with the best score being 208. 27 times he took five wickets in an innings, and four times he took ten wickets in a game. He accomplished the "match double" in 1980, scoring 100 runs and taking 10 wickets in the same match, becoming just the second player in Test history to do so. He was named in England's greatest Test XI by the ECB for the country's 1000th Test in August 2018.
Midway through the 1993 season, Botham announced his retirement from cricket. His final game was for Durham against the visiting Australians at The Racecourse from July 17–19, 1993.
Ian Botham is one of the best all-rounder players in history and a living legend.
| ODI | |
|---|---|
| Matches: 116 | Run Scored: 2113 |
| Batting Average: 23.22 | Top Score: 79 |
| 100/50: 0/9 | Wickets: 145 |
| T20 | |
|---|---|
| Matches: 1 | Run Scored: 1 |
| Batting Average: 10 | Top Score: 10 |
| 100/50: 0/0 | Wickets: 1 |
| Test | |
|---|---|
| Matches: 102 | Run Scored: 5200 |
| Batting Average: 33.55 | Top Score: 208 |
| 100/50: 14/22 | Wickets: 283 |
Sachin Tendulkar of India fields during the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup Group B match between India and the Netherlands at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on March 9, 2011 in Delhi, India.
Sachin Tendulkar of India raises his bat on scoring his century during the Group B ICC World Cup Cricket match between India and South Africa at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground on March 12, 2011 in Nagpur, India.
Sachin Tendulkar of India hits out watched by wicketkeeper Matt Prior of England during day five of the 4th npower Test Match between England and India at The Kia Oval on August 22, 2011 in London, England.
Sachin Tendulkar reach the iconic landmark of 100 international centuries against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup in 2012
Sachin's first Test century
Sachin Tendulkar’s dream to hold the World Cup in his hands and in 2011 it finally happened.
