Botham's home burgled

Thieves have stolen jewellery worth £70,000 from the home of Ian Botham, the former England allrounder turned TV commentator. The jewels were snatched during a party at his luxury home in Ravensworth in North Yorkshire, and police have confirmed that they are investigating a "high value" theft in the area between July 23 and 24.

According to a report in The Sun, Botham's wife Kathy discovered the jewellery was missing after guests had left a party they were hosting. Botham is not the first English cricket personality to fall victim to thieves this year - a burglar made off with Michael Vaughan's watch and wallet, containing more than £1000, and £300 and 17 credit cards belonging to Darren Gough after sneaking into the England dressing-room during a practice session at Chester-le-Street at the end of June.

Besides the money, Vaughan's wallet contained a match ticket from the Antigua Test last April, autographed by Brian Lara, who broke the Test batting record with an unbeaten 400 in that game.