Ian Botham Height, Weight, Age, Family, Children

Ian Botham is an English cricket commentator and former professional cricketer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders of all time. He represented his country in 102 test matches (5,200 runs and 383 wickets) and 116 ODI matches (2,113 runs and 145 wickets) between August 1976 and August 1992. He also captained England in 12 test matches between 1980 and 1981. Ian represented England at the 1979 (2nd), 1983 (3rd), and 1992 (5th) editions of the ICC (International Cricket Council) Cricket World Cup – helping the team reach the final, semi-final, and final of the tournament, respectively. The 1992 (5th) edition was the 3rd time until then that England had reached and lost the final of the competition (the other occasions being 1979 and 1987) – they had also been knocked out in the semi-final stage of the competition in the 2 other editions of the competition that had been held until then (1975 and 1983). He retired from all competitive cricket midway through the 1993 English domestic season. After his retirement, Ian has worked extensively as a commentator and TV analyst, covering several international series/tournaments, mostly in England and Australia. In 2009, he was inducted into the ‘ICC Cricket Hall of Fame’.

Born Name

Ian Terence Botham

Nick Name

Both, Beefy, Guy the Gorilla, Bungalow

Sun Sign

Sagittarius

Born Place

Oldfield, Heswall (then a part of the ceremonial county of Cheshire), Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside County, England, United Kingdom

Residence

Ravensworth, Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

Nationality

Education

Ian had attended the Milford Junior School, a primary school in Yeovil, a town and civil parish in Somerset, England. He later studied at Buckler’s Mead Comprehensive Secondary School, also situated in Yeovil. When he was about 16 years old, he left school to seriously pursue a cricket career.

Occupation

Cricket Commentator, Professional Cricketer (Retired)

Family

• Father – Herbert Leslie ‘Les’ Botham (Former Member of the Fleet Air Arm, the naval aviation component of the UK’s Royal Navy, Former Amateur Cricketer) (d. May 2014)
• Mother – Violet Marie Botham (née Collett) (Former Dental Nurse, Former Amateur Cricketer) (d. April 2012)
• Siblings – Dale Knight (née Botham) (Younger Sister) (Care Worker), Wendy Botham (Younger Sister), Graeme Botham (Younger Brother)
• Others – Lisa Harrison Botham (Daughter-in-Law), Sarah-Jayne Botham (Ex-Daughter-in-Law)

Batting

Right-Handed

Bowling

Right-Arm Fast-Medium

Role

All-Rounder

Build

Average

Height

6 ft 2 in or 188 cm

Weight

91 kg or 200.5 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Ian has dated –

1. Kathryn Waller (1976-Present) – Ian married a woman named Kathryn ‘Kathy’ Waller in a ceremony that was held in 1976 in Doncaster, a city in South Yorkshire, England. They have 3 children together – a son named Liam James Botham (b. August 26, 1977) (Entrepreneur, Former Cricketer, Former Rugby Player), and 2 daughters named Sarah Botham and Rebecca ‘Becky’ Botham. Through Liam’s past marriage to Sarah-Jayne Botham, Ian has 3 grandchildren including a grandson named James Ian Botham (b. February 22, 1998) (Professional Rugby Player). Through Liam’s marriage (in 2013) to Lisa Harrison Botham, Ian has a grandson named Benji (b. July 2015).
2. Lindy Field (1986) – Rumor
3. Kylie Verrells (1998-2000) – Ian reportedly dated an Australian waitress named Kylie Verrells between 1998 and 2000. They allegedly went on romantic holidays around the world and stayed under assumed names in five-star hotels.

Race / Ethnicity

White

He is of British descent.

Hair Color

Salt-and-Pepper

Eye Color

Blue

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Stocky frame
• Short-cropped, side-parted hair
• Sports a rugged stubble
• Affable smile
• Puffy face

Ian Botham Facts

1. Ian was a talented soccer player during his school days but eventually chose cricket as a career – when he was about 16 years old.
2. In the English domestic circuit, he played for Somerset County Cricket Club (1974-1986), Worcestershire County Cricket Club (1987-1991), and Durham County Cricket Club (1992-1993). In 1984 and 1985, he also captained Somerset County Cricket Club. He briefly turned out for Queensland (1987-88) in the Australian domestic circuit as well. In 2017, he was appointed the chairman of Durham County Cricket Club.
3. Ian first came into the spotlight in June 1974 when he helped Somerset County Cricket Club defeat Hampshire County Cricket Club by a solitary wicket in the quarter-final stage of the Benson & Hedges Cup (a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002). Chasing a target of 183 runs, he walked in to bat with his team struggling at 113/7. During his knock, he was hit by a ball in the mouth which led to heavy bleeding and the eventual loss of 4 teeth. Despite this, he continued batting and scored 45 runs not out to guide his team to a nail-biting win.
4. In the early part of his international cricket career, he also, intermittently, played a few matches for the English professional soccer clubs Yeovil Town F.C. (1978-1980) and Scunthorpe United F.C. (1980-1985) – as a defender. Ian was appointed the latter club’s president in 2017.
5. From February 10, 1978, until March 9, 1984, he represented England in 129 consecutive international matches (65 test matches and 64 ODIs) – setting a new world record. As of July 2023, only 8 other male players had managed to better this record.
6. In July 1981, in a match against Australia, Ian became the first male English captain (and just the 9th overall) to have ‘bagged a pair’ (dismissed for a duck (a score of zero) in both innings of a test match). The rarity of the occasion is put into perspective by the fact that, as of July 2023, only 25 male players (including just 2 Englishmen – Nasser Hussain being the other, in August 2000) had suffered this fate in the history of the test match format. The last such instance was recorded in February 2023 in what was the 2,495th test match. This means that a captain ‘bagging a pair’ is an event that only happens once in nearly 100 men’s test matches (99.8, to be precise).
7. In 1981, Ian won the ‘BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award’. It has been presented, annually since 1954, and is the main award of the ‘BBC Sports Personality of the Year’ ceremony that is held each December. The winner, selected from a pre-determined shortlist, is judged by a public vote. The recipient must either be British or reside and play a significant amount of their sport in the United Kingdom.
8. In 1986, he was suspended for 63 days by the England and Wales Cricket Board (the governing body for the sport in the country) after he admitted in an interview that he had smoked cannabis. Soon after returning from this ban, in August 1986, Ian equaled Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee’s world record of 355 wickets in men’s test matches. He held on to this record and improved it to 373 wickets until November 1988 when he was overtaken by Richard Hadlee of New Zealand.
9. In the 1986-87 season, while still recovering from a severe rib injury, Ian produced performances that led him to be named ‘Player of the Match’ in both of the matches that England won in the best-of-3 final of a trilateral ODI series that was also contested by Australia and the West Indies.
10. In August 1987, he conceded 217 runs in 52 overs in a test match against Pakistan. As of July 2023, this was still the most number of runs conceded by a male English cricketer in a single inning of a test match. The only other male English cricketer to have conceded more than 200 runs in a single inning of a test match was Ian Peebles – the man whose unwanted record Botham had broken. Peebles had conceded 204 runs in 71 overs in a test match against Australia in August 1930.
11. While representing Queensland in the 1987-88 season in the Australian domestic circuit, he was involved in a scuffle wherein he allegedly assaulted a fellow airline passenger who had intervened in an argument between some of his teammates. Ian was fined USD 800 by a magistrate and USD 5,000 by the Australian Cricket Board (the governing body for the sport in the country).
12. During the 1992 (5th) edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup, more or less his last act in international cricket, he played a key role in helping England reach the final of the tournament for the 3rd time. He was the joint 2nd-highest wicket-taker (16 dismissals in 10 matches) in the tournament and had also contributed 192 runs with the bat. He was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his critical and miserly spell (2/27 in 10 overs) in England’s opening match of the league stage of the tournament – a thrilling 9-run win over 1983 champions India.
13. In England’s 4th match of the league stage of this tournament, against co-hosts, arch-rivals, and defending champions Australia, Ian produced a spell-binding all-round performance (4/31 in 10 overs with the ball followed by 53 runs with the bat) to seal a dominant 8-wicket victory. He was named the ‘Player of the Match’ once again.
14. In England’s 8th (and last) match of the league stage, against Zimbabwe, he produced team-best bowling figures (3/23 in 10 overs) but was unable to prevent a shock 9-run upset. Despite the defeat, England managed to finish the league stage of the tournament in 2nd place with a 5-2 win-loss record. England eventually lost to Pakistan in the final by a margin of 22 runs.
15. In 1992, Ian was appointed an ‘Officer of the Order of the British Empire’ (OBE) for his services to cricket in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
16. After he retired from competitive cricket, he has been involved in numerous charitable efforts. He raised millions of pounds for Bloodwise (now known as Blood Cancer UK, a UK-based charity dedicated to funding research into all types of blood cancers) and later served as the organization’s president (appointed in 2003).
17. Ian’s interest in cancer research was sparked by an incident that occurred in 1977. He had an appointment with a doctor regarding a broken bone in his foot. While going to that doctor’s room, he accidentally turned towards a ward in that hospital where some of the children were suffering from blood cancer and the scene deeply moved him. He has also undertaken 12 long-distance charity walks (the first was in 1985).
18. In 2004, he was honored with the ‘BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award’. It was first presented in 1996 and 1997, not given out for the next 3 years, but was then revived in 2001. Since then, it has been presented annually and is a key part of the ‘BBC Sports Personality of the Year’ ceremony that is held each December. The winner is selected by BBC Sport, the sports division of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation, a British public service broadcaster headquartered in London) that provides national sports coverage for TV, radio, and online platforms.
19. In October 2007, Ian was invested as a ‘Knight Bachelor’ in the Queen’s Birthday Honours – for his services to charity and cricket. The title of ‘Knight Bachelor’ is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organized orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honors system.
20. After the July 2020 3-match bilateral test series between the West Indies and England, it was decided that this series would henceforth be renamed as the ‘Richards–Botham Trophy’. It is named after Ian and the legendary West Indian cricketer Viv Richards who fought many fierce battles against each other on the international stage while also developing a great friendship during the time that they spent at Somerset County Cricket Club.
21. Both of them represented the English county between 1974 and 1986. Richards also happens to be the godfather of Botham’s son Liam. The first series for the ‘Richards–Botham Trophy’ was held in March 2022 – the West Indies won that 3-match series by a 1-0 margin.
22. In July 2020, it was announced that he would be appointed to the ‘House of Lords’ (the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom) and that he would sit as a crossbencher (an independent or minor party member in a legislature).
23. Ian assumed office in October 2020 and was awarded ‘life peerage’ (life peers in the United Kingdom are appointed members of the peerage (a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honors system) whose titles cannot be inherited). Life peers are given the rank of ‘Baron’. In August 2021, he was appointed the UK’s trade envoy to Australia.
24. As of July 2023, there had been only 24 instances of a player registering at least 250 runs and recording at least 20 wickets in a bilateral test match series. Only 4 players in history, as of July 2023, had achieved this feat at least twice – Ian thrice (against Australia (1978-79, 1981, and 1985)); Garry Sobers of the West Indies thrice (against India (1961-62), and against England (1963 and 1966)); Keith Miller of Australia twice (against the West Indies (1951-52 and 1955)); and Kapil Dev of India twice (against Pakistan (1979-80), and against England (1981-82)).
25. As of July 2023, there had been only 34 instances of a player registering a century and recording a 5-wicket haul in the same men’s test match. Only 2 players in history, as of July 2023, had achieved this feat at least thrice – Ian (5 times – 103 & 5/73 against New Zealand in February 1978; 108 & 8/34 against Pakistan in June 1978; 114, 6/58, & 7/48 against India in February 1980; 149* & 6/95 against Australia in July 1981; and 138 & 5/59 against New Zealand in January 1984) and Ravichandran Ashwin of India (3 times – 103 & 5/156 against the West Indies in November 2011; 113 & 7/83 against the West Indies in July 2016; and 106 & 5/43 against England in February 2021).
26. Ian’s performance in the aforementioned July 1981 match against Australia had helped England win one of the greatest matches of all-time by a narrow margin (18 runs) – only the 2nd time in history that a team had won a men’s test match after being asked to ‘follow on’ (in a match consisting of 2 innings for each team, a team that bats second and scores significantly fewer runs than the team that batted first may be asked to undertake their 2nd innings immediately after their 1st). As of July 2023, only 3 other instances of such a victory had been recorded in a men’s test match – England’s win over Australia by 10 runs in December 1894; India’s win over Australia by 171 runs in March 2001; and New Zealand’s win over England by just 1 run in February 2023.
27. In the very next match of this series, with Australia at 105/5, chasing a target of just 151 runs to win, Ian produced an inspired spell of bowling – 5 wickets for just 1 run in 28 balls. England won another sensational match (this time by a margin of 29 runs) to take an unimaginable 2-1 lead after 4 tests in a series that they were trailing by a 1-0 margin after the first 2 test matches. He scored a century in the next (5th) match of the series as well to help England to a 103-run victory and an unassailable 3-1 series lead.
28. The 6-match series eventually ended in a 3-1 win for England as Ian ended up as England’s highest run-scorer (399 runs) and highest wicket-taker (34 dismissals). In recognition of his once-in-a-lifetime all-round heroics, this series is fondly referred to as ‘Botham’s Ashes’. This was the 51st edition of ‘The Ashes’, a storied bilateral test match series played biennially between England and Australia.
29. Not surprisingly, largely due to Ian and Ravichandran Ashwin’s aforementioned heroics, English and Indian male players share the record for achieving the feat of a player registering a century and recording a 5-wicket haul in the same men’s test match the most times (6 instances apiece). Incredibly, however, as of July 2023, no other male English player had repeated this feat – after Ian’s aforementioned January 1984 performance. As of July 2023, he was also the only male player in history to have achieved this feat twice in the same calendar year (against New Zealand in February 1978 and against Pakistan in June 1978).
30. He was also only one of 3 male players in history, as of July 2023, to have registered a century and recorded 2 5-wicket hauls (114, 6/58, & 7/48 against India in February 1980) in the same test match – the others being Imran Khan of Pakistan (117, 6/98, & 5/82 against India in January 1983) and Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh (137, 5/80, & 5/44 against Zimbabwe in November 2014). These 3 performances, as of July 2023, were also only the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th instances, respectively, of a male cricketer recording an aggregate of 100 or more runs and 10 or more wickets in a test match.
31. The only other such performance, as of July 2023, of this kind by a male cricketer was by Alan Davidson of Australia (44, 80, 5/135, & 6/87 against the West Indies in December 1960). This particular match is memorable for another reason – it was the first men’s test match in history to have ended in a tie (a situation in which the side batting in the 4th (and last) innings of a test match is bowled out, with the aggregate scores of both teams level). The only other men’s test match, as of July 2023, to have ended in a tie, was contested between Australia and India in September 1986.
32. Ian has authored/co-authored numerous books including Botham’s Choice (1982), My Autobiography: Don’t Tell Kath (1994), Deep Cover (1996), Ian Botham: My Illustrated Life (2007), Head on: The Autobiography (2008), On Fishing: At Sea, Being Coarse, on the Fly (2010), and Botham’s Book of the Ashes: A Lifetime Love Affair with Cricket’s Greatest Rivalry (2011).
33. His hobbies/interests include golfing, game (any wild animal hunted for meat or recreation) shooting, and angling (a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth).
34. Ian is color blind – a condition that can be termed as the decreased ability to see color or differences in color.

Featured Image by Botham Wines / Instagram