Ian Baron Botham (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords and a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017. Hailed as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game, Botham represented England in both Test and One-Day International cricket. He played most of his first-class cricket for Somerset, and also for Worcestershire, Durham and Queensland. He was an aggressive right-handed batsman and, as a right arm fast-medium bowler, was noted for his swing bowling. He generally fielded close to the wicket, predominantly in the slips. In Test cricket, Botham scored 14 centuries with a highest score of 208, and from 1986 to 1988, he held the world record for the most Test wickets until overtaken by fellow all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee. He took five wickets in an innings 27 times and 10 wickets in a match four times. In 1980, he became the second player in Test history to complete the "match double" of scoring 100 runs and taking 10 wickets in the same match.
Botham has a wide range of sporting interests outside cricket. He was a talented footballer at school and had to choose between cricket and football as a career. He chose cricket but, even so, he did play professional football for a few seasons and made eleven appearances in the Football League for Scunthorpe United. He is a keen golfer and his other pastimes include angling and shooting.
Botham was a phenomenon. He bowled fast-medium, often quick, swung them a long way in the days when his waistline had not spread with his age and reputation, and bounced out the best of batsmen. When the movement in the air was not what it used to be, he added to his weaponry cunning changes of pace and a wicked leg-cutter. His bowling average, His bowling average stood at 18.97 for 100 wickets, 21.20 for 200, but ended at 28.40 for 383.
His batting was as good as any middle-order batsman of Test class, with the special knack and ability for merciless destruction. He wielded the heavy bat like a club, based his methods on sound technique and laced them with brutal physical power. He could propel himself in the air and take blinders in the slips. No situation was impossible, no match far too gone in the other direction to be won.
Botham has at times been involved in controversy including a highly publicised court case involving rival all-rounder Imran Khan and an ongoing dispute with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). These incidents, allied to his on-field success, have attracted media attention, especially from the tabloid press. Botham has used his fame to raise money for research into childhood leukaemia. On 8 August 2009, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. In July 2020 it was announced that Botham would be elevated to the House of Lords, and that he would sit as a crossbench peer. On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the ECB.
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