Ashes Heroes No 4: Ian Botham

We're getting close now. 11 days or so to go, four Ashes heroes remaining, and time for England's greatest hero, if not our greatest cricketer. For those who missed it, Dennis Lillee was No 5.

The mark of a true great is how often people claim someone who follows is "the new x". And the more that the anointed heir just fails to match up, the more the legend of the original hero grows.

Our disappointment is enhanced but with every failure our memory of the role model also grows. How often between 1988 and 2005 was someone described as "the new Botham" just because they could bat and bowl a bit? Chris Lewis, Ben Hollioake, Mark Ealham, Phil De Freitas, David Capel... none came close until Andrew Flintoff's golden summer.

Even then, it is hard to say that Flintoff was Botham's equal in batting, bowling or fielding. The only area where they matched each other was in hopeless captaincy. But at least Flintoff, like Botham, played a dominant role in winning the Ashes. For 2005, read 1981.

We may as well start there, though Botham's Test career had begun four years earlier. It was one of the great series in Ashes history, just as topsy-turvy as 2005 but not as to-the-wire. It began with Botham as captain and a loser, ended with him in the ranks and a hero. The attitude of the MCC members who refused to applaud him at the start of the second Test or meet his eye as he trudged off after two ducks was disgraceful - although not as bad as those who tried to throw punches at Botham the previous year when play was delayed by a wet outfield - but it may have played its part in his revenge mission. With every six he hit, every wicket he took, as that summer went on it was a two-fingered salute back at those he disdained him.

England trailed 1-0 after those two Tests and the series went on to Headingley with Mike Brearley as captain. Australia declared their first innings on 401 for nine - how they must have regretted not getting a few more runs three days later - with Botham taking six of the nine wickets. England were then dismissed for 174 (Botham 50) and were asked to follow on, losing Gooch a second time before the close. After a rest day - a chance to digest the harsh criticism of the Sunday papers - play resumed and England slumped to 105 for five, still 122 behind.

Enter Botham, but England lost two more wickets quickly and at 135 for seven the end was nigh. Reportedly, when Graham Dilley came to the crease Botham told him: "Let's have a bit of fun." Fun it was, with Dilley making 56, Chris Old 29 and Botham getting to 145 before the day was out. He added only four the next morning before Bob Willis was dismissed, but the game was afoot. Australia needed 130 to win, Botham took the first wicket, Willis eight of the remaining nine, and England won by 18 runs.

That was not Botham's only heroic feat in a summer when he made 399 runs and took 34 wickets. In the next Test at Edgbaston, a low-scoring thriller, Australia needed 151 to regain their lead in the series. Botham took five wickets for one run in 28 balls as England won by 29 runs. On to Old Trafford and England won the series with Botham making 118 in a seventh-wicket stand of 149 with Chris Tavare.

The 1981 Ashes are what Botham is best remembered for but his England career spanned 15 years. Although he is rightly termed a bowler who batted, his batting average of 34 justified his place in the England lower middle order. As a batsman he was rather agricultural but also clinical. You got the impression the ball went in the rough direction he intended. As a bowler, he was one of the finest away swingers of his age until age, injury, weight and a bad haircut proved costly. Botham's first 202 wickets came at 21.2 runs each; his final 181 cost 36.4 each.

He was a superb close fielder. He also had a great sense of occasion. After his cannabis ban in 1986, he was recalled to face New Zealand at the Oval and took wickets with his second and twelfth balls to pass Dennis Lillee's world record of 355 Test wickets. "Who writes your scripts?" Gooch asked.

Botham's first-class career began with Somerset in 1974. He had an early test of character when he was hit in the mouth by a bouncer from Andy Roberts, the West Indies pace bowler who was with Hampshire. Botham spat his dislodged teeth out and played on. His Test debut came in 1977 when he was 21 against Australia and he took five wickets in his first bowl. England won by seven wickets. Five more wickets, this time for 21 runs, came in his second Test and England won again.

In 1978-79, he went on his first tour to Australia, where he took 23 wickets and made a couple of fifties as England won the series 5-1. He did even better on his second tour to Australia, although the Ashes were not contested in that 1979-80 series, making 118* in Melbourne and taking 19 wickets in three Tests, 11 of them in defeat in Perth.

His third tour Down Under, on which England lost the Ashes they had won in 1981, was not successful. He took only 18 wickets in the five Tests and his batting was similarly in the supporting category rather than that of a leading man, but he played his part in the regaining of the Ashes in 1985. 31 wickets were taken in a series that began with seven in victory at Headingley and ended with six in victory at the Oval.

There were two more tangles with Australia. Botham began Mike Gatting's Ashes-winning tour of 1986-87 with 138 in Brisbane, his first century in the Ashes since 1981. He later took five for 41 at the MCG. England won both Tests in a 2-1 series win. Australia's long period of dominance then began in 1989, but Botham played in only three Tests and had little role to play. His first-class career ended four years later when he made 32 but failed to take a wicket for Durham against the touring Aussies.

Botham has gone on to have some success as a forthright broadcaster, although his style is not to everyone's taste. While he has had plenty of off-field misdemeanours (he was sacked by Queensland after being arrested for assaulting an airline passenger), he has also raised more than ten million pounds for Leukaemia Research from his 11 long-distance charity walks, for which he was justly knighted in 2007.

Comments

[Raj Balakrishnan]

Botham's most spectacular effort came against India in Bombay. He score a hundred and picked up 14 wickets in one test! Something unimaginable now. On a different note, I guess Ashes Hero No.1 would have to be Shane Warne.

[Richard]

Englands best ever all-rounder without doubt, although Raj I think Warnie may get picked at the post by a man who made so many runs against england in the 30's.

[Bumpa]

Beefy was certainly England's best cricketer at least since overarm bowling was legalised. His greatest quality is that he knew how to win test matches. He could read the play and didn't need a room full of analysts.

[Dominic]

Sorry Raj - I would be aghast if it wasnt Bradman...

Warne will be in the top 3, Im wondering who the other person is?

[Paul Sherlock]

As an Australian I admired Ian Botham for the way he played his cricket.

[Johnmc]

For those trying to work out the top three - I don't think Peter Such has been in there yet

[Rob]

Of course, Bradman has to be number one - unless, of course, he's so far beyond the normal run of cricketers as to require a league of his own.

Warne as number 2 seems inevitable, which leaves no. 3. Trouble is, I see at least two great captains and allrounders, Dr Grace and Waugh slightly-senior, who've no place on the list.

I'm assuming that Grace's finest years were a little too early to qualify, so it must be Waugh at 3.

(I wouldn't have him so high personally, but a top 50 without him is unthinkable)

[Yabba]

Still missing is the player who had the biggest impact on test cricket. In a winning side he was the only innings over 20, scored just under 70% of the sides first innings runs and effectively ended lob bowling.

Without Charles Bannerman, test cricket may have waited another thirty years to start.

[Gavin]

Hmm, Bradman the greatest ever batsman vs Warne, possibly the greatest ever bowler? very very tough for No 1, but I'm going to plump for Warne. His stats against England are staggering, along with some decent late order batting and a very safe pair of hands in the slips (except 2005...thank goodness) genius. Just the sight of the man made Englishmen shake with fear (batsmen and fans alike) I reckon if he slipped on his baggy green now, he'd probably take 30 or 40 in the next Ashes series...and I for one am glad he has called it a day!

[Rob]

Yabba: no question that Bannerman was one of the greatest players of his generation. However, strictly speaking, he never played in the Ashes (though he did umpire), and wouldn't be eligible for this list.

[Vidhya]

So Bradman, Hobbs and Warne then.

No big complaints about the included names (except Pratt) except that at times rank depending too much on statistics. From what I remember, there is no Herbert Sutcliffe or Compton. Tyson and Larwood are included mainly for what they did in a single series. By this criterion the captain of the latter should have been in the top 10.

However, the suggestion to include Bannerman is mildly ridiculous.

PS : Looking up the previous entries is infernally difficult. We should have had a separate category for the series.

[George Miller]

Vidhya - No, Hobbs has already been in the list at #7.

[Vidhya]

Thanks George. I was wrong about Sutcliffe and Jardine too.

Since Grace is unlikely to make it in an Ashes list, that leaves only Steve Waugh

[john manc]

could anyone tell me where alderman came, i can't find the list. Alderman was the most forgettable but effective swing bowlers i ever saw play in ashes series in england. He proved that good technique always beats raw pace, aka bret lee,

[john manc]

ps, for anyone too young to remember him he took over 80 wickest in two ashes series in england, yes 80, I am english but he would be the best ashes player i saw in my lifetime, way better than mcgrath, i just want to know where he finished cos will be underrated

[SounthernWaratah]

I ask you. Where would the Ashes be without Botham?

[Rileen]

While Botham was certainly the better allrounder, Flintoff is the better bowler.