Ian Botham, the English allrounder who destroyed Australia on the pitch and raised millions for children's cancer charities off it, is now "Sir Beefy."
The first cricketer to claim the test double of 5,000 runs and 300 wickets, Botham received a knighthood in Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday Honors list officially released yesterday.
Widely known by his nickname "Beefy" for an expanding waistline in later years, Botham was honored for his services to cricket in a career spanning almost 20 years, followed by long-distance charity walks -- one of them over the Alps with elephants.
PHOTO: AP
"One does not work without the other," Botham said. "What I achieved on the cricket field and the status I achieved with the public has allowed me to then go and raise the money."
The 51-year-old Botham, now a leading TV cricket commentator, was at the fourth test between England and West Indies when the news of his knighthood was revealed. He will now be called Sir Ian.
"I'm delighted that I've been honored, not only for myself but for the people that have helped me get there," he said.
By the end of his career, Botham had scored 14 test centuries and 5,200 runs, taken 383 wickets and held 120 catches to stand alongside the best allrounders in history.
Botham has raised a reported ?10 million (US$19.76 million) for the Leukaemia Research charity. The charity was reportedly inspired when the cricketer went to hospital with a foot injury and met terminally-ill children after getting lost.
"In the early 80s there was a 20 percent chance of survival and now that has risen to 80 percent," Botham said.
During his career, Botham dominated both the front and back pages of Britain's voracious tabloid newspapers. Accounts of his dazzling sporting performances were mixed with colorful reports of his penchant for partying and womanizing.
After his retirement from cricket in 1993, ending with English county newcomers Durham, Botham focused on charity fundraising with ambitious walks up and down Britain.
Botham reached his sporting peak in the summer of 1981 when he virtually won the Ashes single-handedly in what has become known as "Botham's Test."
With his career in tatters after resigning the England captaincy, Botham, then aged 25, produced a stunning performance against Australia at Leeds' Headingley ground in the third test.
Already one test down in the Ashes series against a rampant Australia, Botham took 6-95 in Australia's first innings of 401-9 and scored 50. England were forced to follow on after scoring just 174.
At 135-7 on day four, trailing by 92 runs and Australia having an innings in hand, England were heading for almost certain defeat -- with one bookmaker offering odds of 500-1 against an England victory.
Botham struck a ferocious 87-ball century to guide England to a close of play 351-9 -- finishing on 149 not out -- and pacebowler Bob Willis did the rest of the work on the final day, demolishing Australia's second innings for an 18-run triumph. It was the first victory in 87 years by a team forced to follow on.
England never looked back, leveling the series and going on to win it 3-1.
Botham refused to allow Australia to recover, taking five wickets for only one run in 28 balls to secure victory in the next match. He also scored 118 in the fifth test, becoming one of the few English cricketers to earn the respect of Australian fans.
Botham made his England debut in 1977 and was the country's leading all-rounder almost immediately, becoming captain within three years. In his seventh match, he became the first player to score a century and take eight wickets in a test, against Pakistan at Lord's.
But Botham's captaincy, relying on a carefree approach to the game, collapsed under the pressure of leading a team and his near-permanent conflict with the conservative cricketing establishment running the game.
Botham was relieved of the captaincy in 1981 -- immediately before the "Miracle at Headingley" -- but remained in the England team until 1992, although there were some interruptions.
In 1986, he was banned after being caught smoking cannabis in New Zealand but was recalled the following summer to pass Dennis Lillee's then world record of 355 test wickets.
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