From: karnik@deci.cs.umn.edu (Neeran M. Karnik)
Subject: A farewell to Ian Botham - article from the Sportstar (long)
Organization: University of Minnesota
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 01:50:23 GMT


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ALL GOOD THINGS HAVE TO END -- by Robin Marlar, The Sportstar, July 11.
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	Ian Botham was only 22 when he was selected as one of Wisden's 5
cricketers of the year, as coveted an honour as there is in the day-to-day
game in England. Here we are, 15 yrs. later, contemplating the last days
in Test cricket at least, of the man who has made the greatest impact on
cricket in Britain since a certain Dr.W.G.Grace. It is one of the finest
examples of good timing and judgment that the National Portrait Gallery
commissioned no pictures of any cricketer between the bearded doctor and
the big fellow we all call Beefy. Both men are in the colossus category. 

	He has done his 100 Test matches now, and his figures are not
going to improve. He is never going to catch up with Richard Hadlee's
tally of Test wickets, 431. As a batsman he has hit only 14 Test centuries
and those of us who have wanted to see him extend his Test career by
solidifying his batsmanship, bringing it more under control and thus
improving its reliability at Test level, have been saddened by what even
kindly eyes must recognize as a failure. Certainly he bats lower down the
order than the traditional high scorers but he is a batting talent who
should have had more than 19000 first class runs in his bag. 

	In some ways he has been a player with the wrong sort of record.
He has thumped the odd fellow, probably because they deserved it, and he
has has at least one brush with the law on another subject, drugs. He was
never as successful a captain as he thought he would be, either at county
or England level. For a while he was keen to have another crack at both
jobs but that has not happened. Perhaps at 40 some county may yet call
him. 

	Whatever negatives there might be, and they are minor, are deeply
buried under the massive pile of positives which Botham has managed to
accumulate. His cricketing exploits against the old enemy, Australia in
1981 built him an indestructible capital of goodwill with the British
public. With not too much help from others, he batted England to victory
at Headingley and then bowled them to a series win in the next match at
Edgbaston. They were heady days and if he hit the ball further in 1985,
when his sixes rained down on crowds all round the land, he had already
lost some of the bite in his bowling. 

	For so many years he was the prime example of the wicket taking
bowler, and in this respect he probably showed even Richard Hadlee the
way, they are rare birds these, and recognized by the number of times they
take 5 wickets in a Test innings. Botham has done it 27 times, Hadlee 36.
Like Hadlee, Botham was at his best as a fast medium bowler, and in his
case, one who could make the ball swing in devilish fashion. When he had
his first back trouble in his mid-twenties, some of his extraordinary
movement disappeared perhaps inevitably. In his early days, he had that
rare gift of also making the ball hasten off the pitch, like Maurice Tate
or Alec Bedser. Later he acquired much more control and continued to get
wickets by working on the batsman's weaknesses which he was accurate
enough to exploit. In the end, perhaps, he was too devoted to the short
ball in the hope of getting a catch at one of the two long legs that were
posted, a poor ploy, but one that he made as lucrative as any. 

	Botham's gifts were those of the natural athlete. He has endless
energy and bounce, a good rhythm, natural balance, brilliant footwork for
a big fellow and the eye of a hawk. He has been a soccer player, golfer,
and will not only take on any game with a ball and an implement but is
also a competent shot and fisherman, moving his home nearer to the wilder
country where these field sports are second nature to the locals, in his
case, deep into North Yorkshire. 

	The truest, most constant feature of Botham's life is his love of
cricket. Like so many professionals the game matters more to him now as he
approaches the end of a glittering career. He will not give it up or fail
to respond to any of its challenges. Hence his delight at moving from
Worcester to Durham at the start of this season. 

	However it is his place in the England set-up which excites him.
when he missed most of 1988 with his most serious back injury, Botham knew
that he would have to take a steep and rough road back into the big time.
He compensated as best as he could. Those mammoth walks, all over Britain,
and then through Europe as he retraced the steps of the great Carthaginian
general Hannibal, complete with his own circus elephants whom Botham
himself outlasted comfortably, kept him in the public eye, a place he
enjoys, and more importantly, raised millions of pounds for leukaemia
sufferers like the son of Phil Neale, his county captain at Worcester.
What a stupendous effort all those walks proved to be. So in their way
were his appearances in pantomime for he had already fallen flat when some
crazy guy tried to introduce him in Hollywood as the great Babe Ruth from
over the water. When he appeared as the King in Jack and the Beanstalk at
Bournemouth at least the audience knew who he was. He did the promoters
proud. These annual theatrical extravaganzas are meant to be fun and
Botham can contribute to that wherever he is. 

	It seemed that he would be an ageing outcast until, at the end of
the 1991 season, Botham came back into the England dressing room and
reminded Gooch of what a useful personality he can be. Sometimes morose
and distrusting outside the team especially to the press whom he owes no
favours, Botham evidently lifted England's spirits at a key moment to such
an extent that the management decided that they needed him for the World
Cup, panto or not. Indeed he bowled tidily and contributed one or two good
starts at the top of the order in Australia.

	At the start of this summer, the team was evidently going to be
built around Botham's continuing presence at no.6, with his ability to
hold one end up with the ball apparently undiminished. During the one day
matches the plan worked and England went two ahead. In the first Test at
Edgbaston, Botham broke down under the strain of bowling a long spell on a
flat wicket. Anybody who has bowled and suffered a torn groin knows it is
the most stubborn of all muscle injuries. In my book there was never the
slightest chance that he could be fit for the second Test at Lord's. For
some reason, Botham was picked, could bowl only five overs, failed with
the bat, and contributed only two spectacular catches to the team's
effort. He dropped at least one hard chance too, and none believed his
statement that the dark glasses which he is wearing for money, helped him
as a slip fielder. The truth is that he managed to break England's
catching record but he no longer quite as immaculate a catcheras he was,
one of the best ever, fit to rank with Wally Hammond.

	Botham was left out of the squad for the third Test at Old
Trafford because he had a broken big toe. We have probably seen the last
of him at this level. He has an ambition to stay in first class cricket
until his son Liam arrives there, which is alleged to be a matter of when
rather than if. He has his Question of Sport slot, the longest running
program of its type which he enjoys and he can build on his celebrity
status for a few years yet.

	However, Ian Terrence Botham is a long way from retirement age,
almost 30 yrs., and it will be fascinating to see how he manages his
career after cricket. Some have done it well, many have not. I just hope
he has treated wisely the considerable sums of money that have passed
through his hands. Dr. Grace was after all a practising medic and could
and did cope with the rest of his life. Botham has given us all so many
golden moments that we don't want to see him broken in spirit or in pocket
by what is to come.

	--- Robin Marlar

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P.S. The following is copied from posts by Vicky at UMass. Is this a
violation of copyright ? I hope it isn't :-) Thanks, Vicky :-)

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Is this a violation of copyright?  I hope it isn't!
Type setting and typos are my own.
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--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Neeran  Karnik  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dept. of Computer Science,      | Email: karnik@cs.umn.edu
University of Minnesota         | Tele : 612-339-5350 
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Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket