Botham the rising star of English cricket

Press, 8 March 1978, Page 18

Botham the rising star of English cricket

By

R. T. BRITTENDEN

lan Terence Botham is a man erf parts. He was born in Heswall in Cheshire, he lives at Hull in Yorkshire, he was on the ground staff at Lord’s in Middlesex and he. plays for Somerset. Now he belongs to all of England, for this 22-year-old allrounder seems certain to

have a long and very successful cricket career ahead. In an England team somewhat short of colourful players, Botham has stood out during the tour of New Zealand. Already he has an established rep-

utation as a talented and aggressive batsman, an exceptionally good fieldsman, and bowler who, if lacking the pace of a Bob Willis, is distinctly sharp and, when the occasion demands, has extraordinary staying powers. Botham is extremely strong and he has the prime asset of being intensely competitive. He seems able to produce something extra when the mood of the match is against him and his side. When New Zealand was batting to win supremacy on the first day of the final test, Botham bowled supremely well, beating the batsmen regularly with lively out-swing, although the ball was then reaching a ripe old age. Botham was only a boy when he played for the Somerset second eleven in 1971. In the following two years he was on the staff at Lord’s, the training ground for many good players.

He had a season in Australia, playing for University in Melbourne under the Whitbread Foundation scheme, which offers promising young players overseas experience. He made his county debut in 1974 and two years later had a 1000 runs in a season for the first time.

By last year, tiis allround skills had brought him into line for a test place, and he was included in the team for the third test against Australia at Trent Bridge. He had five wickets in an innings, first time up, then had another five in an innings in the fourth test. So he went to Pakistan on his first tour, but was not selected for any of the three tests. His batting potential there was minimised by the slow, low bounce and his bowling became no better and no worse than those of a score of other first-class

cricketers placed in a similar situation. But in New Zealand, Botham has blossomed again. Lancaster Park spectators will recall his hard, clean hitting when he made an unbeaten century against Canterbury and when he came back for the second test, there was another outstandingly good century as well as eight wickets and a couple of catches. Between times, he had taken 10 wickets in the Otago match and bowled with skill, purpose and success in the first test. As a bowler, he has had to conform to the tightfisted policy which has marked this test series, but he has disciplined himself admirably. Regularly labelled England’s replacement for Tony Greig, this young fellow looks worthy of such a distinction. Botham is highly regarded as a golfer by his team manager, Ken Barrington, himself a 6-handi* cap and very enthusiastic player. He reckons Botham is one of the biggest drivers he has seen, getting the ball out about 320 yards in ordinary conditions. Botham, a very fit 14 stohe, was described by Barrington as being somewhere between a Keith Miller and a Brian Close — with the daring and power of Miller, the allrounder, and with the determination and competitiveness of Close. He plays soccer in the Somerset senior league, an amateur organisation, and there is an unconfirmed story that in Melbourne he . once showed some promise as a boxer. But it is as a talented, aggressive all-rounder that he has made his mark here. There is little doubt that the New Zealand team to play in England later this year will see a great deal more of Botham.