Ian Botham

Ian Terence Botham OBE, (born November 24, 1955 in Heswall, Cheshire) (nicknamed "Beefy") was one of England's best-ever cricketers and one of the best all-round cricketers of all time. In a Test career spanning 15 years from 1977, he scored 5,200 runs at 33.54, and took 383 wickets at an average of 28.40. Similarly successful at one-day cricket, he was a Wisden cricketer of the year in 1978.

Off the field

A colourful character, Botham was suspended briefly in 1986 for smoking cannabis, and his private life has occasionally made dramatic appearances in Britain's tabloid newspapers. He is married with three children. His son Liam Botham was a professional Rugby League player, playing for Wigan Warriors until his retirement in 2005 due to injury.

Related Topics:
Cannabis - Liam Botham - Rugby League - Wigan Warriors

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After retiring as a player, he became an authoritative television commentator and has participated in a number of long-distance fund-raising walks for charities. He has raised more than five million pounds, with leukaemia research amongst the causes which have benefited.

Related Topics:
Television - Commentator - Leukaemia

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Botham was appointed an OBE in 1992 for services to cricket and for his charity work. For several years, he was a resident team captain on the BBC quiz show "A Question Of Sport", and he has also taken up offers of appearing in pantomimes during the Christmas period. In 2004, he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.

Related Topics:
OBE - 1992 - BBC - Quiz - A Question Of Sport - Pantomime - Christmas - BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award

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