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Sir Ian Botham - Bothams Book of the Ashes: a Lifetime Love Affair with Crickets Greatest Rivalry

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Bothams Book of the Ashes: a Lifetime Love Affair with Crickets Greatest Rivalry
Author:
Sir Ian Botham
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Mainstream Publishing;Mainstream Digital
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Year:
2011
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London
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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 lifetimes relationship with crickets 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 Australias 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...

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BOTHAMSBOOK OF THE ASHESA LIFETIME LOVE AFFAIR WITH CRICKETSGREATEST RIVALRYSir Ian Botham

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licenced or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Epub ISBN: 9781845969059

Version 1.0

www.mainstreampublishing.com

The moral right of the author has been asserted

First published in Great Britain in 2010 by

MAINSTREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY

(EDINBURGH) LTD

7 Albany Street Edinburgh EH1 3UG

ISBN 9781845964917

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any other means without permission

in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer

who wishes to quote brief passages in connection

with a review written for insertion in

a magazine, newspaper or broadcast

A catalogue record for this book is available

from the British Library

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

For Kath and Kate

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A huge thanks to my England teammates, who made Ashes cricket so much fun and so successful for me. To my Aussie opponents, thanks for giving me such a great challenge whenever I walked onto the pitch and, in so many cases, for becoming good friends off it. Ive attempted to explain just how much the contests meant to me within these pages, but sometimes words cant express just how good they made me feel. A particular thanks must go to Suggo, Dusty and Vic for a bit of memory-jogging, too.

The support from the English public during those contests was remarkable and it continues to be so to this day, while the Australian fans gave it to us with both barrels until we earned their respect, and that was always possible. Ive enjoyed everything that Ashes cricket has had to offer and continue to love the battles that go on without me. I had my time, I loved it and now I relish what I get to watch. Long may that continue.

To Dean The Ghost Wilson, thanks for making this process as painless and enjoyable as possible and for reminding me of some great memories. It has been fun to talk about the old days while watching the new breed go about their work.

To the publishers at Mainstream, thanks for your support and assistance wherever it has been needed, and thank you to my friend and agent Adam Wheatley for always being there.

Finally, thanks to my family, who make it all worthwhile.

INTRODUCTION

W hen Ivo Bligh took his England side to Australia in 1882 to compete for the Ashes of English cricket, he could not possibly have imagined the ferocious competition that he was to pioneer, nor the sort of chaps who would be competing for them after him.

Although England and Australia had been playing against each other for six years, this was the first time that they had played since the Sporting Times mock obituary for the game in England, which declared that the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.

And from the moment Florence Morphy the future Mrs Bligh and a group of Melbourne women presented the captain with an urn containing the burned remnants of a set of bails, or perhaps a ladys veil, the Ashes was born.

Ashes cricket means something very special to me for many reasons. It is full of history and tradition. It is England against Australia, and that brings with it a certain amount of emotional fanaticism. It is not just about what happens on the field; it stirs up a relationship between the two countries that goes back to the days when we were the Poms and they were the convicts.

The Aussies will tell you they were the lucky ones, being sent to a place full of sunshine and beaches while we were left behind in a grey, wet and cold country to sip warm beer, but the truth is that whichever nation holds the urn automatically gets the upper hand on the other.

For English and Australian cricketers, it always has been and always will be the ultimate test. It means more than any other series, and it affects the nation like no other. Playing India or South Africa is plenty to get excited about and might even present a tougher purely cricketing challenge than playing Australia at times, but nothing gets the pulse racing like an Ashes series, and thats true for both countries.

It is a relationship that has developed over time into a bit of a sibling rivalry. Both sides are desperate to get one over on their oldest foe and will do whatever they can to make that happen and earn the bragging rights for another couple of years, but it isnt done with any nastiness or vindictiveness. The Ashes is always contested in a competitive and full-blooded way, but never to an over-the-top degree. It is still sport after all, not life or death although sometimes it feels that way.

Of course there have been times when things have become a little tasty on the field (and Ill be taking you through some of that action in this book), but that is only because it does mean an awful lot to the guys playing out in the middle as well as the fans around the boundary. However, I can honestly say, hand on heart, that it has never spoiled what is essentially a contest that is a joy to play in and watch. It is a series that enriches both countries and that is what makes it so special.

I totally relished the matches and the series I played against Australia, and it is fair to say that my cricketing career will always be closely associated with the Ashes, but it has run deeper for me than just the numbers and stats that the cricket geeks of this world like to pore over.

The Ashes has provided me with some of the most fantastic memories a man can have. I have made some of the greatest friends in my life through Ashes cricket and I have managed to fall in love with a country other than my own. Along the way, I like to think that Ive provided cricket fans with a bit of swashbuckling entertainment at times, and, as an avid Ashes watcher in my youth and now as a commentator, Ive been lucky to see plenty of that from other players up close.

There have been periods when the pendulum has swung one way and then the other, but throughout the ages there is nothing that gets the competitive juices flowing like an Ashes series and that always makes it a little unpredictable.

It is also why the grounds are full, why the back pages of the newspapers are devoted to it and why, no matter what changes in the world of cricket, the Ashes remains the contest everybody wants to be a part of.

In these pages, Ill take you through a lifetimes passion, from my earliest days as a cricket fan and watching the likes of Ken Barrington and Colin Cowdrey stick it to the Aussies to my debut in 1977, onwards and upwards through 1981 although it wasnt all plain sailing that year! and then to my favourite tour of them all, to Australia in 198687. Beyond my days as a player, Ive forced myself to look a little closer at the 16-year gap England suffered before getting their hands on the urn in 2005 and if any series captivated what the Ashes is all about, it was that one.

The future of cricket seems so uncertain at times, with the advent of Twenty20 and the Indian Premier League. There is a very real danger that Test cricket could get left behind in the rush for the wealth and riches that the shorter forms of the game have to offer. However, I can say with some confidence that none of it will ever replace the Ashes and I hope to show you here why I feel that way.

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