Lord Ian Botham OBE is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, former cricketer, and charity fundraiser. Regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, Ian represented England in Test and One-Day International formats. He was part of the teams that finished as runners-up in the 1979 and 1992 Cricket World Cups.
Ian played most of his first-class cricket for Somerset, with stints at Worcestershire, Durham, and Queensland. He was an aggressive right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler known for his swing. In Test cricket, he scored 14 centuries, with a highest score of 208, and held the world record for Test wickets from 1986 to 1988. He achieved the "match double" of scoring 100 runs and taking 10 wickets in a single match in 1980. In August 2018, he was named in England's greatest Test XI for the country's 1000th Test.
Ian has leveraged his fame to raise millions for childhood leukaemia research, serving as president of Bloodwise. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in August 2009 and became a crossbench peer in the House of Lords in July 2020.
Outside cricket, Ian was a talented footballer and played professionally for Scunthorpe United. He is also an avid golfer and enjoys angling and shooting. After retiring from cricket, he worked as an analyst and commentator for Sky Sports, known for his calmness and wit.
Ian was featured on This Is Your Life in 1981 and interviewed extensively by Andrew Neil in 1995. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath in 2008 and was nominated by Boris Johnson for a life peerage in 2020.
In August 2021, he was appointed the UK's Trade Envoy to Australia, promoting business ties between the two nations. Ian is also a sought-after corporate speaker known for his engaging anecdotes. Recently, he has ventured into winemaking, with his Botham-branded wines gaining popularity in the UK.
