Sir Ian Botham is a former international cricketer and captain of the England cricket team. He has claimed five-wicket hauls (taken five or more wickets in an innings) in Test cricket on 27 occasions, second only to James Anderson among English cricketers.[1] A five-wicket haul is regarded as a notable achievement,[2] and 53 bowlers have taken more than 15 five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.[3] Botham is generally considered one of the greatest all-rounders of all time.[4][5] He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1978, and Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year four years later. In 1992 he was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE), and he was knighted for his services to cricket and charity work in 2007.[6] Two years later, he was honoured by the International Cricket Council, who named him as one of 55 initial inductees into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[7] He is ninth overall in all-time Test five-wicket haul takers.[8][note 1]
He made his international debut for England on 26 August 1976 in a One Day International (ODI) against the West Indies.[9] He made his Test cricket debut just under a year later against Australia,[10] and it was during the first innings of this match that he claimed his first international five-wicket haul.[11] It is against Australia that he has claimed the most five-wicket hauls, doing so on nine occasions. Three of these came during the 1981 Ashes series and, along with the two centuries he scored,[12] saw the series dubbed "Botham's Ashes".[13] He twice claimed eight wickets in an innings, playing at Lord's on each occasion, against Pakistan in 1978 and the West Indies in 1984. Including these performances, Botham has collected a five-wicket haul at Lord's eight times, more so than on any other ground.
Botham never managed to take five-wickets in an innings in ODI cricket, despite playing 116 matches and claiming 145 wickets,[14] making him England's seventh highest wicket-taker in the format.[15][note 1] His best return was four wickets, which he achieved on three occasions.[14]
- ^ "Records / Test matches / Bowling records / Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". Cricinfo. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ Pervez, M. A. (2001). A Dictionary of Cricket. Orient Blackswan. p. 31. ISBN 978-81-7370-184-9.
- ^ "Records / Test+ODI+T20I Matches / Most five-wickets-in-an-innings". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Ian Botham". Laureus. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ^ "Ashes Legends XI: Ian Botham (born 1955)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ^ "Player Profile: Ian Botham". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ^ "Ex-England aces dominate ICC list". BBC Sport. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ^ "Records / Test matches / Bowling records / Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ^ "One-Day International Matches played by Ian Botham (116)". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 18 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ^ "Test Matches played by Ian Botham (102)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ^ "3rd Test: England v Australia at Nottingham, Jul 28 – 2 Aug 1977". Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
- ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / IT Botham / Test matches". Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ^ "Classic Ashes clashes: Headingley". BBC Sport. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Player Profile: Ian Botham". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ^ "Most wickets in career for England in ODI matches". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
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