Book description
Sir Ian Botham and the Ashes are as closely intertwined as willow and
leather or Merv Hughes and his moustache. You simply cannot think of
one without the other. In this book, Sir Ian takes you on a ride
through a lifetime's relationship with cricket's oldest and most
treasured prize, revealing just how it has shaped his life and how he
has helped to turn it into the contest it is today.
From the moment he first watched the likes of Ken Barrington stride
to the wicket in jaw-jutting defiance to the day he flayed Australia's
bowling attack around Headingley as if playing with his mates in the
park, and then onwards to his role in commentating on what was
arguably the finest series of the lot, in 2005, Sir Ian has a rich and
varied connection with the Ashes, and he tells all here.
The Ashes is a series that has provided incredible highs and
heartbreaking lows for English and Australian fans alike over the past
35 years. Sir Ian has often been at the centre of the roller-coaster
ride. Whether it is his account of his days as England's dogsbody in
1977 in Melbourne or the story of his refusal to let Bob Willis bowl
downwind until he was angry enough to skittle the Aussies in 1981, all
is revealed in depth in Botham's Book of the Ashes.
Sir Ian Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team
captain whose playing career lasted from 1976 to 1993, and he still
holds the record for the highest number of wickets taken by any England
bowler. Widely known by the nicknames 'Beefy' and 'Guy the Gorilla',
Botham was knighted in 2007 and has authored several books, including
two autobiographies. He is now a writer and cricket commentator and is
regularly involved in charity work.
