About Ian Botham
Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, former cricketer, chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017, and a charity fundraiser. An all-rounder, Botham represented England in both Test and One-Day International cricket. He was a part of the English squads which finished as runners-up at the 1979 and 1992 Cricket World Cups. Botham played most of his first-class cricket for Somerset, also having played for Worcestershire, Durham and Queensland. He was an aggressive right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler for his swing bowling. He generally fielded close to the wicket, predominantly in the slips. In Test cricket, Botham has scored 14 centuries with a highest score of 208, and from 1986 to 1988 held the world record for the most Test wickets until overtaken by Sir Richard Hadlee. He took 27 five-wicket hauls and four ten-wicket hauls. In 1980, he became the second player in Test history to complete the "match double" of scoring 100 runs and taking 10 wickets in the same match. In 2018, he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the ECB. Botham has at times been involved in controversies, including a highly publicised court case involving rival all-rounder Imran Khan and an ongoing dispute with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Botham has raised money for research into childhood leukaemia, including over 13 million pounds for Bloodwise, of which he became president. On 8 August 2009, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. In July 2020, it was announced that Botham would be elevated to the House of Lords and that he would sit as a crossbench peer. Botham has a wide range of sporting interests outside cricket. He was a talented footballer at school and had to choose between cricket and football as a career. He made eleven appearances in the Football League for Scunthorpe United, becoming the club's president in 2017. He is a keen golfer, and his other pastimes include angling and shooting. He has been awarded a knighthood and a life peerage. Botham played most of his first-class cricket for Somerset, at other times competing for Worcestershire, Durham and Queensland. In Test cricket, Botham scored 14 centuries with a highest score of 208, and from 1986 to 1988 held the world record for the most Test wickets until overtaken by fellow all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee. Hailed as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game, Botham represented England in both Test and One-Day International cricket.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.