Botham's hard-living a thing of the past

At his peak, Ian Botham was one of the best allrounders to ever play the game. He also lived life to the fullest off the field. In the Guardian, Mike Selvey wonders how Botham’s hard-charging lifestyle would have fit in with today’s emphasis on fitness and preparation, and whether Botham would have been able to adapt to meet those requirements.

It is 31 years now since Ian Botham produced what was then, and remains the most remarkable all-round performance in a history of Test cricket that will extend to 2,000 matches when England play India at Lord's in a few weeks time. In Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Botham scored 114 in his only innings, sandwiched between bowling figures of six for 58 and seven for 48, or 13 for 106 in the match. In statistical terms, the performance itself is astonishing enough, but what makes it all the more remarkable is that it was achieved on the back of the most ferocious 48-hour bender that came in the aftermath of a particularly dismal tour of Australia, the sort of excessive indulgence, they say, that would have felled a rhinoceros.