Former England Captain Ian Botham is celebrating his 68th birthday. He is one of the greatest match-winners in the history of English Cricket. Not just as a player but Botham contributed to English cricket with his leadership as well. He belonged to the league of 4 famous all-rounders of the 80s era – Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, and Ian Botham.
The Beginning
Ian Botham made his debut for England in One-Day cricket. In 1976 he got his first chance to represent England, against the West Indies. Botham picked up a wicket on his debut which gave a glimpse of what was going to unfold in his career.
He soon went on to make his debut in test cricket as well. He played his first test match against arch-rivals Australia in 1977. On his debut, he picked up a 5-wicket haul to leave an instant impact. Botham cemented his place in both formats.
The Overview
Ian Botham played more than 100 matches in Test and ODI cricket as well. In test cricket, he picked up 383 wickets in 102 matches, at an average of 28.40. Botham registered 27 5-fers which is an impressive record. Whereas in white ball cricket, he had 145 wickets with a similar average.
Ian Botham was a fantastic batter as well. He scored 5200 runs in test cricket at an average of 33.45. The all-rounder had 36 fifty-plus scores including 14 centuries in the longest format. His highest score in test cricket was 208, which he made against India at the Oval.
In white ball cricket, Botham had 2113 runs in his account. His batting exploits in white-ball cricket were not as impressive as test cricket. Botham played his last international match at the final of the 1992 Cricket World Cup where he led England brilliantly but fell short in the summit clash against Pakistan. He will always be remembered for his indelible impact on England Cricket.
Also read: OTD| New Zealand’s dependable top-order batter Will Young was born in 1992