Ian Botham

The Right Honourable The Lord Botham OBE
Botham in 2013
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 October 2020 Life peerage
Personal details
Born	(1955-11-24) 24 November 1955 (age 68) Heswall, England
Personal information
Full name	Ian Terence Botham
Nickname	Both, Beefy, Guy[1]
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast-medium
Role	All-rounder
International information
National side	England (1976–1992)
Test debut (cap 474)	28 July 1977 v Australia
Last Test	18 June 1992 v Pakistan
ODI debut (cap 33)	26 August 1976 v West Indies
Last ODI	24 August 1992 v Pakistan
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1974–1986	Somerset
1987/88	Queensland
1987–1991	Worcestershire
1992–1993	Durham
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC LA Matches 102 116 402 470 Runs scored 5,200 2,113 19,399 10,474 Batting average 33.54 23.21 33.97 29.50 100s/50s 14/22 0/9 38/97 7/46 Top score 208 79 228 175* Balls bowled 21,815 6,271 63,547 22,899 Wickets 383 145 1,172 612 Bowling average 28.40 28.54 27.22 24.94 5 wickets in innings 27 0 59 3 10 wickets in match 4 0 8 0 Best bowling 8/34 4/31 8/34 5/27 Catches/stumpings 120/– 36/– 354/– 196/–
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  England ICC Cricket World Cup Runner-up 1979 England Runner-up 1992 Australia and New Zealand
Source: CricketArchive, 22 August 2007
Association football career Position(s) Centre half Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 1978–1980 Yeovil Town 17 (1) 1980–1985 Scunthorpe United 11 (0) *Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, OBE (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game,^[2] Botham represented England in both Test and One-Day International cricket. He was a part of the English squads which finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup and as runners-up at the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

He played most of his first-class cricket for Somerset, at other times competing 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 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. On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the ECB.^[3]

Botham has at times been involved in controversies, 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. These efforts have realised millions of pounds for Bloodwise, of which he became president.^[4][5] 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.^[6]

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 played professional football for a few seasons and made eleven appearances in the Football League for Scunthorpe United, becoming the club's president in 2017.^[7] He is a keen golfer, and his other pastimes include angling and shooting. He has been awarded both a knighthood and a life peerage.