Famous Cricketers No 83 - Ian Botham

IAN BOTHAM IN ONE-DAY CRICKET As well as being an outstanding Test and first-class cricketer, Ian Botham had a brilliant career as a one-day player. Indeed it was in the one-day game that he first came to public attention with the fighting innings of 45 not out against Hampshire in the 1974 Benson & Hedges quarter-final at Taunton. He played altogether in 116 one-day international matches scoring 2113 runs at an average of 23.21 and taking 145 wickets at 28.54. Eighty-nine of these were taken overseas at an average of 26.01. He played in three World Cup tournaments including two finals. In the 1979 competition England were beaten in the final by West Indies and in 1992 they lost to Pakistan at the final stage. In the 1983 competition England lost an Old Trafford semi-final to the eventual tournament winners, India. Botham’s 145 wickets are still an English record as are the 383 Test wickets that he took. Botham would have made an ideal “pinch hitter”. Indeed, on several occasions he was asked to open the innings for England to give the innings an explosive start but he was equally dangerous coming in down the order to orchestrate the final chase for runs. He made nine fifties in one-day internationals with 79 against New Zealand in 1991/2 being his top score. His best bowling figures were four for 31 against Australia in the 1992 World Cup. In domestic one-day competitions Botham played in 338 matches scoring 8039 runs at an average of 31.90 and taking 450 wickets at 23.91. He made seven centuries with a top score of 175 not out at Wellingborough for Somerset against Northamptonshire in 1986 in the Sunday League. His best bowling figures were taken for Worcestershire - five for 27 in the Sunday League in 1987. He helped Somerset win the Gillette Cup and Sunday League in 1979, their first ever domestic trophies, and he also helped them win the NatWest competition in 1983 and the Benson & Hedges Cup in 1981 and 1982. With Worcestershire he won the Benson & Hedges Cup in 1991 and the Sunday League in 1987. As well as his seven hundreds, he scored thirty-five half centuries in the domestic one-day competitions and he took four wickets in an innings on fourteen occasions. He also held over one hundred and fifty catches. It is a formidable record as the following pages will show. 1973 1. (Sunday League) Somerset v Sussex, Hove, September 2 (Sussex won by six wickets) lbw b M.A.Buss 2 139-9 3 0 22 0 141-4 1 2. (Sunday League) Somerset v Surrey, Kennington Oval, September 9 (Surrey won by 68 runs) c and b Intikhab Alam 2 94 4 0 14 1 G.P.Howarth lbw 162-9 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Sunday League 2 2 0 4 2 2.00 - - 1 Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5w 4w Sunday League 7 0 36 1 1/14 36.00 - - 1974 3. (Benson & Hedges Cup) Somerset v Hampshire, Taunton, May 18 (Hampshire won by 125 runs) c C.G.Greenidge b T.E.Jesty 3 129 11 0 52 1 B.A.Richards c R.J.Clapp 254-8 4. (Sunday League) Somerset v Sussex, Taunton, May 19 (Sussex won by four wickets) b A.W.Greig 18 148 8 1 16 2 M.A.Buss lbw 152-6 P.J.Graves lbw 5. (Sunday League) Somerset v Gloucestershire, Bristol, May 26 (Somerset won by 11 runs) did not bat - 262-3 8 0 42 1 R.D.V.Knight c and b 251-9 1 6. (Benson & Hedges Cup) Somerset v Hampshire, Taunton, June 12 (Somerset won by one wicket) not out 45 184-9 11 3 33 2 B.A.Richards b 182 P.J.Sainsbury c I.V.A.Richards 7. (Sunday League) Somerset v Yorkshire, Bath, June 16 (Somerset won by 4 runs) did not bat - 224-4 6.3 0 43 1 A.L.Robinson b 220 72