Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 1082 Sun. June 17, 2007  
   
Sports


Ian Botham knighted


The Queen has awarded former England cricket hero Ian Botham, who has raised more than £10m for leukaemia charities, a knighthood.

Manchester United's nine-time Premier League title winner Ryan Giggs is appointed an OBE while veteran striker Teddy Sheringham becomes an MBE.

Former snooker world champion Terry Griffiths becomes an OBE.

Ex-Great Britain rugby league star Kris Radlinski and former Dunfermline boss Jim Leishman are both appointed MBEs.

Botham, 51, made his name as a flamboyant and influential all-rounder.

Through 11 long-distance walks, many from Land's End to John O'Groats, he has helped to dramatically increase the survival rate of leukaemia sufferers.

Nicknamed "Beefy", he played 102 Tests for England in a career that lasted from 1974 to 1993.

He took 383 wickets, which remains an English record, and scored 5,200 runs.

"I'm delighted and very honoured, not just for myself but also the people who have helped me get there," Botham told Radio Five Live.

"There'll be a very good party. It will be a very proud moment for me to go to Buckingham Palace again."

The highlight of his career came during the series against Australia in the summer of 1981, which came to be known as "Botham's Ashes".

He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Sport Personality of the Year Awards in 2004 and was appointed an OBE in 1992.

Other sports stars honoured in the Queen's Birthday Honours List include former Wales and British Lions rugby union prop Graham Price and boxer Jane Couch (both MBE).

Yachtswoman Dee Caffari, who last year became the first woman to sail solo non-stop around the globe against the prevailing winds, is made an MBE.

Tim Phillips, chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, becomes a CBE.

FA chairman Geoff Thompson, who last month was named as the new British FIFA representative, is made an OBE.

British Show Jumping Association chief executive Jacqueline Wood also becomes a CBE.

Factfile

Factfile on Ian Botham after the former England cricketer was awarded a knighthood Saturday:

Full name: Ian Terence Botham

Birth Date: November 24, 1955

Birthplace: Oldfield, Heswall, Cheshire, UK

Country: England

First-class teams: Somerset, Worcestershire, Durham and Queensland (AUS)

Style: Right-hand bat, right-arm fast-medium

Tests: 102

One-Day Internationals: 116

Test debut: England v Australia, Trent Bridge, 1977

One-Day International debut: England v West Indies, Scarborough, 1976

Last Test: England v Pakistan, Lord's, 1992

Last ODI: England v Pakistan, Old Trafford, 1992

OTHER AWARDS
One of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year, 1978

BBC Sports Personality of the Year, 1981

OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), 1992

TEST BATTING RECORD

M R HS Avg 100s 50s

102 5200 208 33.54 14 22

TEST BOWLING RECORD

M W BB Avg

102 383 13-106 28.40

ODI BATTING RECORD

M R HS Avg 100s 50s

116 2113 79 23.21 0 9

ODI BOWLING RECORD

M W BB Avg

116 145 4-31 28.54

1974: Makes first-class debut for Somerset.

1977: Takes five for 74 on Test debut, against Australia.

1978: In February, scores first Test hundred, against New Zealand in Christchurch.

1978: In June, scores 108 and takes eight for 34 in an innings of the same Test, against Pakistan, at Lord's.

1980: Becomes first player to score a century and take 10 wickets in the same Test with 114 and 13 for 106 against India in February's Golden Jubilee Test at Bombay (now Mumbai).

1980: Appointed England captain.

1981: Resigns England captaincy after eight draws and four defeats during 12 Tests in charge following a pair against Australia at Lord's.

1981: In July, takes six for 95, scores 50 and 149 not out as England became only the second team in Test history to win a match after following on with 18 run-win against Australia at Headingley.

1981: In August takes five wickets for one run in 28 balls as England beat Australia by 29 runs to win fourth Test. Later that month scores 118 off just 102 balls as England win fifth Ashes Test at Old Trafford by 103 runs.

1985: Leaves Somerset in protest at county's sackings of West Indies duo Vivian Richards and Joel Garner. Joins Worcestershire.

1985: Undertakes first of several walks in aid of leukaemia charities, walking the length of Great Britain in a 900-mile trek from John O'Groats in Scotland to Land's End in England. In all goes on to raise more than 10 million pounds.

1986: Banned for 63 days by English cricket authorities after admitting cannabis use in an interview.

1992: Joins Durham, English cricket's newest first-class county. Awarded OBE for services to cricket and charity work. Makes his final Test and one-day international appearances.

1993: Retires from first-class cricket after Durham's match against the touring Australians.

Takes up career as a cricket broadcaster with Sky Sports television.

2007: Receives knighthood for services to charity and to cricket. Becomes Sir Ian Botham.

Picture
Ian Botham