When Botham retired in 1993, Ian Wooldridge of the Daily Mail wrote a wonderful tribute. I wish I could find an accurate quote but the gist of it was this: There are some people who burn the candle at both ends but Ian Botham broke the mould. He broke the candle in half and set light to all four ends!
I should know, as he was my hero when I was growing up, being eleven at the time of his Annus Memorabilis and adolescence later on (I am now fifty two!)
There isn't any doubt Ian was that man bolt for England and one of the 5 best allrounders in the world including Gary Sobers, Richard Hadlee, Ian Botham him self,Kapil Dev,Imran Khan great legends of the game (cricket).
Between the years of 1976 & 1987 Ian Botham proved he was the greatest all rounder ever. Time and time again he produced era define in match-winning performances snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against great international sides. In the very late 80s and early 90s he had the back operation & wasn’t able to move, bat or bowl with the same brilliance and thus got involved in lots of charity work. His great performances petered off until his retirement in 92.
I actually have this video, bought in the days when videos still were available. I was twenty three at Beefy's retirement in 1993, remember watching him when I was growing up. His unforgettable Ashes series (I left junior school then) and Test Series during my adolescence. Beefy was my hero during my formative years. Notice his clean shaven appearance in the seventies!
very good to mention his charity work. no other cricketer has done as much for charity as Botham and he has never blown any trumpet over it. He also quit playing for Nottingham shire if I remember correctly when they dropped Viv. Cricket was game of ideals back then.
@@gingertoffee2256 but he took a stand for them. which sportsperson would do that today ? not many . I was not quite sure of the county. thanks for correcting
As an Australian even I was in aure of Ian Botham had over Australia between 1977-1988,but after between 1989-1993 I must admit Allan Border and the Australian cricket team had his Measure expect one day Cricket World cup In Australia/New Zealand in early 1992 that was his swansong even thou they were lucky to get past South Africa in the rain effected semi-final and unlucky against his Good friend Imran Khan and Pakistan in the Final.Ps I have always disliked his fued with Ian Chappell but at least he didn't have that Douglas Jardine hatred of Australia. Cricket was lucky to have the 6 greats of the game in that era in Allan Border,Viv Richards, Imran Khan,Sunil Gavsikar,Ian Botham, Richard Haddle.
Botham was well past his best after 1987 and was in steep decline (mainly due to wear and tear on his body) so not that much of an achievement to say you had the better of him from 1989 to 1993. Botham only played 8 tests after 1987 and only 3 of them were against Australia.
My cricket hero when I was growing up in the 1980’s. A once in a generation player. I’m not sure about that jumper though!! Did he borrow it from Noel Edmonds?? 🤣🤣
Me too. I was eleven and had just left junior school in the 1981 Ashes series and I followed his progress the rest of that decade. His birthday a day before my father's, and twenty three years younger!
The thing I get from this video is that Botham's talent was without any understanding of how he did it. In a sense it was pure instinct, in another lots of hard work, but Botham doesn't at any stage seem in conscious control of the events that emerge. This is in contrast to someone like Bradman who was calculating in all manner of his conduct. For a short period early in Botham's career before alcohol, drugs and celebrity took hold he was the greatest Test all-rounder the world has ever seen.
At this point in time he had taken 373 test wickets and had scored 5,057 test runs. In his last nine tests he took just 10 more wickets and only scored another 143 runs. Injury speeded up his retirement and he was never the same again when returning to the test scene against Australia in 1989. Then he was left out of the West Indies tour later that year,and didn`t play test cricket again until West Indies came over to England in 1991. But due to getting injured in a one day game against them at Edgbaston while he was batting,he only made the last test at the Oval where he fell on his stumps when trying to hook Curtly Ambrose.
@@stevenbootes1979 Yeah I remember watching Alec Stewart going out for 31 also that day but don`t understand why I didn`t stay to watch Botham bat. All I remember is asking my Dad how he got on and he said he fell on his stumps having made 36. He was wrong about that but your Dad was certainly not wrong when he said "He`s finished"!
@@SuperPhilipG I thought he should have retired after the 1986/87 Ashes and then play at the 1987 world cup. He could have pushed England over the line at that world cup. Retire at the top. His stats after this were not good. His stats were awful v Pakistan in 1987 but he performed well in 2 tests - an inspirational C&B to start Pakistan's collapse and England just coming up short in a T20 type chase. And then a very mature 51* v Imran and Wasim to secure a draw at the Oval.
Wanna see Botham, Gower, Charlie Watts, Stephen Fry, Paul, Starkey and Jagger on stage at least once! Talk, but after that, essentially play the fool. And then, followed by that.. Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton on their guitars and brilliant voices.
I used to love watch Ian Botham from 1977 to 93....great memories!!
When Botham retired in 1993, Ian Wooldridge of the Daily Mail wrote a wonderful tribute. I wish I could find an accurate quote but the gist of it was this: There are some people who burn the candle at both ends but Ian Botham broke the mould. He broke the candle in half and set light to all four ends!
People who criticise Botham never lived in Britain during the 80’s. Great great cricketer. The man was a force of nature.
I should know, as he was my hero when I was growing up, being eleven at the time of his Annus Memorabilis and adolescence later on (I am now fifty two!)
Courage and confidence in doing something difficult and dangerous made Botham the greatest Cricketer England produced.
One of the greatest cricketers and human beings of all times.
There isn't any doubt Ian was that man bolt for England and one of the 5 best allrounders in the world including Gary Sobers, Richard Hadlee, Ian Botham him self,Kapil Dev,Imran Khan great legends of the game (cricket).
Well ahead of his time - in this era, would be so destructive
Between the years of 1976 & 1987 Ian Botham proved he was the greatest all rounder ever. Time and time again he produced era define in match-winning performances snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against great international sides. In the very late 80s and early 90s he had the back operation & wasn’t able to move, bat or bowl with the same brilliance and thus got involved in lots of charity work. His great performances petered off until his retirement in 92.
Great man, so so brave and determined.
Never bowed down to anyone, pure guts and grit.
Also, a great friend of The Windies.
A Gent.
Great player in cricket history. He was brave person. His stylish batting .great human guy...
A Great Gentleman, ITB.
An inspiration for all of us.
I actually have this video, bought in the days when videos still were available. I was twenty three at Beefy's retirement in 1993, remember watching him when I was growing up. His unforgettable Ashes series (I left junior school then) and Test Series during my adolescence. Beefy was my hero during my formative years. Notice his clean shaven appearance in the seventies!
Thank you for this! I won the video at a school raffle and watched it religiously. Surprised the theme song never got released in the charts ;)
Do you know the name of the theme song? I really like it.
very good to mention his charity work. no other cricketer has done as much for charity as Botham and he has never blown any trumpet over it. He also quit playing for Nottingham shire if I remember correctly when they dropped Viv. Cricket was game of ideals back then.
Brajesh Singh it wasnt Nottinghamshire it was Somerset and they didnt drop Viv and Joel, they released them from their contracts
@@gingertoffee2256 but he took a stand for them. which sportsperson would do that today ? not many . I was not quite sure of the county. thanks for correcting
Yeah! Ian botham. Red gold and green. Iniversal togetherness of humanity. If only they would listen! But they soon will.
Thankyou, really enjoyed this documentary and even more respect for Sir Ian Botham ! 🍀✌️
A legend of course, ITV, has anyone ever seen cricket on that channel?
This was the first VHS I ever owned. Christmas 1989.
MB the Man, Art of Thinking.
Thank you.
Greatest allrounder of all time.
After Mike Proctor
Who??
Thankyou for posting this, great look at the life of a legend
It's Botham the man they wanted.
What's the song which is there in the background for the first two minutes?
Shazamed it and tried to google the lyrics. No luck.
Only one word 4 this batsman.superb.
The days when both the BBC and ITV had cameras at Test Matches.
I was just going to write that. I loved those days.
The irony of Lord Botham having a dig at the Welsh, right at the beginning, with his grandson now being a Welsh rugby international.
Made a year after Leonard Parkin's retirement as a newsreader one of the other projects he did
I remember Leonard Parkin on ITN News when in my formative years. By the time he retired, I was a young adult (now fifty two!)
As an Australian even I was in aure of Ian Botham had over Australia between 1977-1988,but after between 1989-1993 I must admit Allan Border and the Australian cricket team had his Measure expect one day Cricket World cup In Australia/New Zealand in early 1992 that was his swansong even thou they were lucky to get past South Africa in the rain effected semi-final and unlucky against his Good friend Imran Khan and Pakistan in the Final.Ps I have always disliked his fued with Ian Chappell but at least he didn't have that Douglas Jardine hatred of Australia. Cricket was lucky to have the 6 greats of the game in that era in Allan Border,Viv Richards, Imran Khan,Sunil Gavsikar,Ian Botham, Richard Haddle.
Botham was well past his best after 1987 and was in steep decline (mainly due to wear and tear on his body) so not that much of an achievement to say you had the better of him from 1989 to 1993. Botham only played 8 tests after 1987 and only 3 of them were against Australia.
My cricket hero when I was growing up in the 1980’s. A once in a generation player. I’m not sure about that jumper though!! Did he borrow it from Noel Edmonds?? 🤣🤣
Me too. I was eleven and had just left junior school in the 1981 Ashes series and I followed his progress the rest of that decade. His birthday a day before my father's, and twenty three years younger!
Like Sir viv...Sir Botham too had an amazing style mingled with the game .
I've been wondering for decades what the song on this was. Anyone know?
Botham, Flintoff, Stokes in the same team would have been something.
Their's only one Ian Botham
The thing I get from this video is that Botham's talent was without any understanding of how he did it. In a sense it was pure instinct, in another lots of hard work, but Botham doesn't at any stage seem in conscious control of the events that emerge. This is in contrast to someone like Bradman who was calculating in all manner of his conduct. For a short period early in Botham's career before alcohol, drugs and celebrity took hold he was the greatest Test all-rounder the world has ever seen.
Compton was the same. Natural instinctive talent and both could not coach or describe the technical aspects.
What’s that background music?
scratch under the surface of the brute force and bravado ;They're was one of the most intelligent cricketers in the history of the game .
Kim Hughes' comments show him as a true gent.
whats the msic at the end??? nice one...
The media at it back then.
England means botham in cricket & my choice is gutsy shearer as well as beckham in football ⚽.
Botham took 383 wickets not 373
At this point in time he had taken 373 test wickets and had scored 5,057 test runs. In his last nine tests he took just 10 more wickets and only scored another 143 runs. Injury speeded up his retirement and he was never the same again when returning to the test scene against Australia in 1989. Then he was left out of the West Indies tour later that year,and didn`t play test cricket again until West Indies came over to England in 1991. But due to getting injured in a one day game against them at Edgbaston while he was batting,he only made the last test at the Oval where he fell on his stumps when trying to hook Curtly Ambrose.
@@SuperPhilipG I remember him falling on his stumps and so does my Dad!
@@stevenbootes1979 Yeah I remember watching Alec Stewart going out for 31 also that day but don`t understand why I didn`t stay to watch Botham bat. All I remember is asking my Dad how he got on and he said he fell on his stumps having made 36. He was wrong about that but your Dad was certainly not wrong when he said "He`s finished"!
@@SuperPhilipG wrong last test wasnt against the west indies
@@SuperPhilipG I thought he should have retired after the 1986/87 Ashes and then play at the 1987 world cup. He could have pushed England over the line at that world cup. Retire at the top. His stats after this were not good. His stats were awful v Pakistan in 1987 but he performed well in 2 tests - an inspirational C&B to start Pakistan's collapse and England just coming up short in a T20 type chase. And then a very mature 51* v Imran and Wasim to secure a draw at the Oval.
11:23👌👌👌
Wanna see Botham, Gower, Charlie Watts, Stephen Fry, Paul, Starkey and Jagger on stage at least once! Talk, but after that, essentially play the fool. And then, followed by that.. Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton on their guitars and brilliant voices.
I had a dream about this just last night
All of them couldn’t catch like Botham